- The British Government has released a new app designed to make services more available
- Gov.uk -Ap is launched in beta as a library for government web pages
- Upcoming features include an AI -Chatbot and Digital Wallet
The British Government’s Digital Service has released a new mobile app designed to make access to public services easier.
The new GoV.uk -App launched in public beta for iPhone and Android phones on July 1, and currently offers users a way to quickly access 11 categories of services, such as money and taxes, parents and guardian and travel. Currently, these consist mainly of groups of links to the Gov.uk -Websted.
Launch in public beta means that the gov.uk app is actually not finished and more features are expected to be added with step -by -step updates.
In a speech with Techradar, State Secretary of Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle said: “This app was designed internally of the new digital government center. From the first moment you log in, you will see a service that strives to tailor public services to you as an individual person.”
Kyle also defended the decision to release the app as an unfinished beta: “We have had private tests with 1,300 people, now we have to go mainstream. Anyone who has seen how other apps in the mainstream tech world [launch] Want to know that you have to move to high -volume tests to really test an app’s robustness. “
As Guardian reports, Kyle promised in January to release the app in June 2025 and said, “The design is not as we would like it.”
Although the app is quite limited in the function at the moment, it is still a greater launch and constitutes a remarkable part of the British government’s digital strategy. Here are 5 important things you need to know about the new app.
1. It’s out now
As mentioned, the GoV.uk app is available now via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It is exclusive for smartphones and there are no plans for a tablet version.
The app is available on phones running iOS 16 or newer, or Android 10 or newer. Users log in via the British government a login system and a user must be at least 16 years of age to create an account.
Logging in to the app for the first time gives users an adaptation screen that is not different from those you see when creating a social media account – you get a selection of categories that need to be added to your homepage to reflect your priorities.
2. It is in public beta
Gov.uk -Ap is launched in beta, which means it is still technical in a test phase. In the tech world, ‘beta’ refers to a software structure before release developed enough to be used by a wider audience, but still requires frequent updates, corrections and functional extensions.
When release, the app is pretty much just a library with useful pages on the gov.uk website, but there are plans to bring more features and features into the app itself over time.
Technology secretary Peter Kyle said one of the first post-launch functions would be the ability for benefits that complain to generate evidence of their claims electronically.
The app will also eventually integrate with the upcoming GoV.uk Wallet -App, which provides a digital space for the government issued cards and documents – Kyle confirmed to Techradar that this will be launched by Memembrance Day (November 11) and that the first card to be supported will be HM Armed’s Veteran Card.
After this, the wallet function will receive support for a fully digital British driver’s license by the end of 2025.
3.. It gets an AI -Chatbot by September
The largest post-launch feature that comes to the gov.uk app is GoV.uk Chat, an AI-Chatbot based on Anthropics Claude.
This is an AI -Chatbot designed to help users find relevant information, draft forms and letters and better understand public services.
“People will be able to have intuitive, human-like conversations about any area of interaction with the government,” said technology secretary Peter Kyle, “it will inform it will guide people to go through the steps they need.”
Kyle added: “It has been trained on 700,000 pages of publicly available information. It has not been trained in private information […] There is no security threat coming from this. There is no hint that they have access to private data that can enter the public space. “
Kyle confirmed that the gov.uk -chat feature would be launched by September 2025.
4. Your private data is not shared (without consent)
Making important public services available via a mobile app naturally comes with some security concerns -especially when it comes to the visibility of this data to the App Store providers and telephone manufacturers such as Apple and Google, and the app’s AI partner, anthropic.
In a speech with Techradar, technology secretary Peter Kyle said: “People’s private data will not be shared outside the government. The only data we collect in the app are to serve you. It’s about use data so we can get to know you as an individual citizen and it is all done with your consent.”
Kyle added, “We don’t do anything unless we have your consent to do it.”
5. It is tailor made to you
A useful aspect of the gov.uk app is the way the app tailor to your habits and personal circumstances.
Although optional, users can enter their postal code to the app to receive advice and updates on their local authorities as well as the nationally available services that the app refers to users by default.
Techradar understands that the app does not track location beyond manually entered location data, such as postal codes or travel sites.
Each category section also has a tab with recently visited pages to make access to regularly required information and services.
After trying the gov.uk app for myself, I can see the value of having a somewhat personalized and easily accessible portal to important public services available at any time on your phone.
However, I find that I question whether this release has come too soon. The point of a public beta is to test, but it seems that many of the more useful features are absent in this release, which can make it difficult for users to assess the applicability of the app correctly.
Wanna download and use this app? Tell us that in the comments below.
