The new Rejsekort (Travel card) app has been put on hold for new users due to an error that causes the app to not anonymize data about users’ locations correctly. This has been revealed in new documents that the magazine Ingeniøren has gained insight into. The company behind the app has previously assured that data about users’ locations would be anonymous. So far, 60,000 citizens have been allowed to sign up as users in the app. The error, identified by the company, concerns the way the app collects and processes information about users’ movements.
Jens Willars, Customer Director at Rejsekort & Rejseplan A/S, stated to Ingeniøren that there are several aspects that need to be changed before the app can be rolled out to more users. The app collects data about users’ location when they check in on the app during their journey and continues to collect data until the user checks out. If a user forgets to check out, the app can continue to collect data about the user’s location until 4 a.m. the next day, when all users are automatically checked out.
According to Jens Willars, this data is stored in pseudonymized form, which means that personal information such as names and addresses are separated into a separate document. The Rejsekort app was launched for the first users on April 9, 2024, and the plan was for the app to open to all users later in the year. It is still uncertain how long it will take before the app becomes available to more users.