🏠 Overview › 👥 User Roles ›📖 Fall Back to BankID or Vipps When Biometrics Fail

Fall Back to BankID or Vipps When Biometrics Fail

When biometric authentication fails for any reason — hardware failure, too many failed attempts, biometric data changed (face/fingerprint re-enrollment at OS level), or app reinstallation clearing Secure Storage — the Biometric Auth Service detects the failure and the Biometric Auth Screen presents a clear fallback option. The user is directed to the BankID/Vipps selection screen to complete full re-authentication. After successful fallback authentication, the user is offered to re-enroll biometrics for future sessions. The fallback must be seamless with no data loss or session corruption.

HIGH story-bankid-vipps-authentication-organization-administrator-005 3 pts
3
Story Points
High
Priority
BankID & Vipps Authentication
Feature

User Story

As a user
I want to be automatically redirected to BankID or Vipps login if my biometric authentication fails or is unavailable
So that So that I am never locked out of the app due to biometric failure and can always reach my account through a trusted fallback method

Acceptance Criteria

  • Given a biometric failure (hardware error, too many attempts, or OS-level biometric change), when the Biometric Auth Service receives a failure response, then the Biometric Auth Screen displays a friendly message and a prominent 'Use BankID or Vipps' button
  • Given a user whose biometric credentials are invalidated (e.g., new fingerprint enrolled at OS level), when they attempt biometric login, then the app detects the invalidation, clears the stale biometric token reference, and presents the BankID/Vipps selection screen
  • Given a user who completes BankID or Vipps authentication as a fallback, when the new session is established, then the app offers biometric re-enrollment before navigating to the home screen
  • Given an app reinstallation where Secure Storage is cleared, when the user launches the app, then no biometric prompt appears and the user is directed to the initial BankID/Vipps login flow
  • Given a user on a device where biometrics become unavailable mid-session (e.g., too many failures disabling OS biometrics), when they attempt biometric auth, then the app handles the OS error gracefully without crashing and presents the fallback option within 1 second

Business Value

Authentication fallback resilience is critical for user retention. A peer mentor who cannot log in to register an activity is likely to skip the registration entirely — exactly the underreporting problem the app is built to solve. Graceful fallback ensures users are never blocked from their primary workflow, maintains trust in the app's reliability, and prevents support escalations from users locked out by biometric failures.

Components

BankID & Vipps Authentication
Related Feature
Organization Administrator
User Role