Option to change SingPass ID could be made easier

It should not come as a surprise that many SingPass users have not changed their unique online IDs from their NRIC numbers (Most S'poreans still use NRIC number for SingPass ID; Aug 8).

The availability of the option for SingPass users to use non-NRIC details as their SingPass IDs was probably lost on the public because it was implemented with other enhanced security measures such as SingPass two-factor authentication (2FA).

The emphasis then was to get everybody to sign up for the 2FA token.

The SingPass log-in page also does not help.

There is nothing on the page to indicate that you can change the SingPass ID.

A message could have been inserted to tell users that they can change their SingPass ID, along with a link to the page to do so.

Changing the SingPass ID requires one to log in to www.singpass.gov.sg. Nobody does that. Each time we go to a site which requires SingPass authentication, we see only the SingPass log-in page and not the other pages on the SingPass site.

Even when you log in to the site, the link to change the SingPass ID is buried and is not so obvious.

If the authorities want people to change their SingPass ID, then they should make this change easier and more obvious.

Phua Kok Hee

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 10, 2018, with the headline Option to change SingPass ID could be made easier. Subscribe