I fail to get how online services that support a “signature” make sense. I’m talking about those things that allow a user to draw something that almost looks like a real-world, hand-written signature on a screen on top of a line in a PDF. What am I missing?

May 7, 2018 · 4:12 PM UTC

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I am not disputing that signing a document electronically (i.e., with your private key) is a very good approach. Is this what this is referring to? Or does it refer to the drawing approach?
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Replying to @stilkov
We use hand-written signatures in our software for insurance contractors, so that the end customer can sign the contract. I know of no other way to do that conveniently.
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So you print the signatures, and the customer signs on paper, right? If so, I have no problem with understanding that.
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Replying to @stilkov
There are a lot of countries where the handwritten signature is the only legally binding signature. There’s still a long way to go before pli signature made it to the law.
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I get that, but do those same countries really accept a signature “drawn” with a mouse?
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Replying to @stilkov
We plan on afding hand-written signatures on our REST interface. For that personal touch.
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Replying to @stilkov
Legacy thinking might be one. Proving that it was a deliberate act (just not by whom) rather than an accidental checking of a box. Further it creates enough random to create a signing key to prevent further modifications of the document. The good solutions do that
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Replying to @stilkov
I don't get it. For a signature, I don't know what they're meant to be comparing against. The attempted scrawl of my name on a trackpad today probably won't even match against tomorrow's attempt, so really not sure of the point of it.
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