Most Singaproeans still use their NRIC numbers as their SingPass User IDs. This should not come as a surprise. How many people actually know that SingPass User ID can be changed?
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). It is also possible that most Singaporeans think that it is a must that NRIC numbers be used as their user ID. The authorities main concern was to get everybody to sign up for the 2FA token, but no emphasis was made on changing User ID.
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. yet, we see none of this.
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. If not, all this talk about having secure passwords and User IDs are just cheap talk.
