SingPass App Launched Today & Problems Surfaced Immediately, But S’poreans Can Help

There’s one question that has puzzled many Singaporeans in the last few years as Singapore moves forward more rapidly to cement its status as a Smart Nation:

Ask anyone in the office and chances are, they’ve forgotten about their password.

If you’re a Singaporean, you might only log in to SingPass once a year to file your tax returns. If you’re a male Singaporean, you might have logged in more often (I’m not the only one who book my IPPT via SingPass, am I?).

And if you work in admin, you might log in every month to make your company’s CPF contribution and whatnot, though that has changed since last month when companies now have to use CorpPass.

Most of us would remember our Instagram password rather than our SingPass password. But now, logging into SingPass is going to be as easy as logging into Instagram (well, a tad more troublesome but still easier than what it used to be).

Because SingPass just has an app, and it allows you to log in with your fingerprint, your face or a six-digit pin.

SingPass App

According to the chief executive of Government Technology Agency (GovTech), every month, they receive about 150,000 requests from SingPass users to reset their passwords.

In the past, before 2FA (the thingy whereby they send a SMS code to your registered phone) was introduced, should you need to change your password, you need to have your new password sent to you via snail mail to your registered address, and that could take ten working days. Either that, or you had to go down to any SingPass counter to change your password.

With the new 2FA, you can change it online, but it’s still not as convenient as what’s coming up.

After a trial with over 7,000 users, the SingPass app is launched today. You won’t need to log repeatedly with your password (and 2FA) since it can be logged in with your fingerprint, face or a six-digit pin.

In the Google Play Store, it lists “Say goodbye to long passwords” as one of its key features, stating that “With the SingPass Mobile app, you don’t have to enter your SingPass ID or password. Simply scan or tap the QR code to launch the app, verify and you’re in!”

According to GovTech, it used the most advanced methods available in the market to tighten its security…so that people won’t know how much CPF you’ve got, you know.

(Though it’s unknown if it can be logged in with a photo, but let’s leave that for another day)

So, convenience, check. Security, check. Everything’s good, and it should be a five-star app, just like the Singapore flag, no?

Yes and no.

Apple App Store Version

Let’s start with the good news first.

Here, take a look:

5-star app. And the reviews look like any developer’s wet dreams:

Though you might just wonder why the reviews came in 20 October 2018 when it’s supposed to be out today (22 October 2018). Either they are beta users or the app store is registering the reviews from another timezone.

But since there are no bad reviews, it’s a good app. Really: people who review apps are the most honest fellows around since they’ve got nothing to gain or lose (we’re only saying that because we’ve got quite a bit of good reviews for our app #humblebrag).

Great, now let’s move on to Android.

Android Version

Lest you’re not aware, it’s always more difficult to code an Android app than an iOS app, primarily because there are just too many different Android phone models out there.

The Android version gets…2.5 stars instead.

And if you read the reviews, you’d have thought that it’s not the same app as the Apple version, as it’s mired in complaints.

According to a report, users are having issues registering in the app, and would receive an error code 121 instead.

GovTech has acknowledged the problem and is currently solving the problem, which developer calls “debugging”.

But let’s cut them some slack, because we’re familiar with app development.

App Development isn’t a Piece of Cake

You’re reading this on an app, and it may look simple, but a lot of hard work is put in to ensure that everything works perfectly.

There are apps that merely “embed” a website and pass off as an app (not in the Apple App Store as Apple won’t allow it), and that kind of app is easy to develop but won’t create the app experience you’re having now. Those are merely “web app” and you’re better off going to their mobile website instead.

This app that you’re reading on is what is known as a “native app”: an app coded specifically for your OS and requires lotssssssssssss of coding, debugging and testing. SingPass app is obviously a native app, and it’s even more difficult when the app requires them to access a secured database.

Before an app goes live, developers would spend more hours testing in various environments and different phones. In our office, every single staff has our app and before we release an update, we spend hours going through every nook and cranny to see if it works fine on different phones and OS.

There was once when we were ready to release it and one of us found out that on his phone, a YouTube video couldn’t load when he turned the phone, and ta-da: we spent countless hours to work on the coding of the app again.

So, like what GovTech mentioned, help them if you encounter an issue. It’ll greatly expedite the debugging process.