Overview

Add an extra layer of security to your sign-in with ID scanning. Verify that a guest’s ID is genuine on your Visitors kiosk before inviting them into your building. If a visitor’s ID has expired or isn’t recognized as a real ID, Envoy notifies your administrators so they can approve or deny their entry.

Supported forms of ID

Through our partnership with identity verification company Onfido, Envoy can recognize over 4,500 types of identification documents from 175 countries. You can see the full list of supported IDs here.

How ID scanning works

You can choose to enable ID scanning for all your visitors or only certain visitor types.

If a visitor selects a visitor type that requires them to scan their ID, the kiosk will prompt them to take out their ID on the next screen. The kiosk will then ask them to select the type of ID they are scanning. Once they’ve made a selection, the iPad’s camera (front or back depending on your settings) will activate and the kiosk will prompt them to scan the front and then the back of their ID by holding it in view of the camera. The visitor will then finish any remaining steps in your sign-in flow.

While the visitor finishes signing in, Envoy will verify if the ID is valid in the background. This generally takes no more than 2-5 minutes. Note that Envoy does not yet check IDs against government watch lists or other databases.

If an ID appears to be fake or the photo is too blurry, it will return as “rejected.” This will notify the people you’ve designated as ID scanning contacts in the dashboard and via email that a visitor needs their approval to enter the building. Please note that at this time, ID Scanning does not automatically check for an expired ID.

ID Scanning and Compliance

Onfido is GDPR compliant. Envoy and Onfido have agreed upon a 24 hour retention period for which to store the photos of the IDs. After 24 hours, the photos are deleted.

Please note that there are some global data protection regulations that prohibit the collection of ID numbers in certain situations. Prior to enabling ID Scanning, please confirm the data protection regulations that may apply to your Visitors based on geographic region or industry.

Approving and denying visitors

Global, Location, or Front desk Admin's can approve or deny access to visitors with rejected IDs at any location, and Location Admin can approve or deny visitors at their location. These administrators will not be alerted when a visitor’s ID is rejected unless they’re added as an ID scanning contact.

Setting up ID scanning

Step 1: Enable ID scanning

  1. Find ID scanning and click “Enable.”

    1. Here you can choose which visitor type has ID scanning set up

Step 2: Add ID scanning contacts

  1. Under ID scanning notification, click “Choose an ID scanning contact”.

    1. Note: The ID scanning contact must be a Global, Location, or Front Desk Admin. Learn more about Envoy’s roles and permissions.

  2. Start typing the administrator’s name, and select it when it appears.

  3. Click “Save contacts.”

Note: The contact(s) will receive an email notification but any admin logged into the dashboard will see the "approve/deny" modal.

Step 3: Choosing which camera to use on the Kiosk (iPad)

Choose if you want you visitors to use the front or back facing camera for ID scanning

  1. Navigate to the Envoy Dashboard

  2. Click edit next to the sign-in flow you would like to edit

  3. Click on the Security tab at the top of the page

  4. Under ID Scanning click Edit

  5. Choose the Rear or Front camera

  6. Click Save

Important Note: If you already have your visitor kiosk paired, you may have to remove and then re-pair your Visitors Kiosk for changes to take place. See this article for instructions on pairing your iPad.

Step 4: Using the dashboard with ID scanning

A quick overview of what each status in the dashboard means.

  • ✔️ ID accepted: The ID scanned by the visitor was deemed valid.

  • ✔️ Access approved: The visitor scanned an ID that was determined invalid, and their visit was approved by a Global or Location Admin.

  • ❌ Access denied: The visitor scanned an ID that was determined invalid, and their visit was denied by a Global or Location Admin.

  • − Not required: The visitor was not required to scan their ID at sign-in.

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