AutoFirma from Android or on the computer? The best way to sign documents

If you have an electronic identifier called DNIe or a digital certificate from the FNMT on your mobile and your computer, you will be able to identify yourself more quickly and easily on a multitude of public administration sites and applications. Although the possibility of electronically sign documents without having to print them This seems to be one of the most interesting.

This is achieved through AutoFirma (also known as “AutoFirm@”), which is available on desktop operating systems such as macOS and Windows, as well as Android and iOS mobiles. This, yes, It doesn’t work the same on desktop and mobile. The process is so different that it is even convenient to talk about their differences, thereby concluding which option may be more interesting.

Both work with electronic DNI and digital certificate

Starting with the application itself, let’s say that It is not called the same on mobiles and computers. It is called ‘AutoFirm@’ in the desktop format, while for mobile it is called ‘@firma Mobile Client’. Of course, for practical purposes, these would be counterpart applications developed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

As you will have already guessed in the introduction, to sign documents with these applications You will need an electronic ID and/or digital certificate Issued by the FNMT (National Manufacture of Currency and Stamps).

The requirements for sign documents with ID in the AutoFirma mobile application is that it has an NFC chip capable of reading it, which practically all smartphones already have. And if you want to use it on a computer, you’ll need a physical ID reader, which can even be purchased from Amazon.

On another side, sign with digital certificate you will need it to be added to your computer and mobile. In fact, it must be updated, because if it has expired, it will not be used to sign documents. Later, in the AutoFirma app, it will be detected automatically when you choose it, although in the case of the Android app, you have to add it first, which is done very intuitively.

That the signature is visible is achieved only on the desktop

The essence of a digital signature is not in what is visible, but in what appears in file metadata. The administration requesting a document thus signed shall verify it in this manner. However, it is usually interesting to capture it visually as well, either with our doodle or with text that includes our name.

Well, if you want to have this functionality, you will have to use AutoFirma on a computer. Both Windows and Mac applications support this ability, being able to customize the text, font size, typeface, color, and position. However, the Android application does not allow adding the visual signaturealthough it leaves a trail in the aforementioned file metadata, so the legality of the signature still stands.

The signing process is obviously different

Talking about the steps themselves to add the signature to a document, there are obvious differences, considering that on mobile we will use a touch surface and on computer with a mouse/trackpad. And even if in substance it is the same thing, on mobile tends to be faster offering the steps as soon as you open the app with just a few clicks.

Starting precisely with the app on android, we must click on ‘Sign file’, choose the document through the file explorer, choose if we want to use DNIe or digital certificate (for the latter we must click on ‘Do not use DNIe’) and that is All. Once done, the file explorer will open again to choose the location in which to save it, in addition to the name that we want to give to the file.

In the Windows and Mac app We start with the option of being able to directly drag the file to the window or press the “Select files to sign” option and locate them from the file explorer. Here is the difference with the mobile application, since we are asked if we want to make the signature visible within the document. Regardless of what we choose, we will have to click on ‘Sign’ and pass the DNIe through a reader or, failing that, select our digital certificate. Then it will be a matter of choosing where we want to save the file and under what name.

So we see that the process, although it ends up being the same, it’s much more nimble in the android app. Of course, we have to say that, in our experience, it also gave us more problems. Not so much with the digital certificate, but with the DNIe, since It was impossible for the mobile to read the ID with NFC and we know that more and more users are suffering from this problem.

So which one is better to use?

We can simply and simply conclude that take advantage of the nearest equipment. Even if the apps are not the most intuitive in the world, nor the most beautiful, in the end they are very practical when you know how they work.

Although the desktop application is better equipped with possibilities such as adding a visual signature, for legal purposes it ends up being the same. Nevertheless, It is recommended to have them on both deviceseven if you don’t use it frequently, because it’s also not an application that takes up a lot of space and can save you trouble at the most unexpected moment.

The main advantages of using AutoFirma on each device are those already mentioned in the previous paragraphs: being able to capture a visual signature wherever you want with the computer. Meanwhile, on mobile, the main virtue lies in the versatility offered by the possibility of signing a document at any time while always carrying the mobile with you.

As disadvantages of appsWe also refer to what has already been said. AutoFirma on Android does not allow a visible mark in the document and tends to cause problems if the DNIe is used instead of the digital certificate. In the case of the application for Mac and Windows, we end up with a slightly longer process.

Therefore, the conclusion is that It also depends if you use the digital certificate or the DNIe. If you only have the DNIe, it is best to always use the computer with the corresponding external accessory that allows its use. In the case of a digital certificate, using AutoFirma on any device will be equally useful.

In Xataka Android | All the data and procedures that you can consult from your mobile with the My Citizen Folder application