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Number Verification: how BeeHealthy made login simpler

See how BeeHealthy integrated Number Verification in one day to make customer login simpler and remove the need for SMS codes.

Number Verification flow visualized

In an earlier blog, my colleague Lauri Alho summed up Number Verification in one line: "the quietest feature is often the best one." For the end user, that's exactly right. They open the application, the mobile network confirms their number in the background, and they're logged in without typing a code.

Someone still has to build that quiet, though. So how much work is it? For BeeHealthy, integrating Nokia Network as Code Number Verification took one knowledge-sharing session and a single workday of implementation. This blog goes through what that integration involved, and why it fit into a day.

BeeHealthy builds a digital care platform for health, social, and veterinary care providers and insurers. For a customer booking an appointment, login is one of the steps between them and the care they need. In healthcare that step is usually a heavy one, for good reason, and often means an SMS one-time passcode. BeeHealthy wanted to replace it with a check that happens in the background.

The Number Verification API itself answers a specific question: does the phone number supplied to the application match the number associated with the SIM in the device accessing it? The mobile operator provides the information needed to make that check, and Network as Code exposes the capability through an API.

For developers, the integration has two parts. The client handles any required consent step and initiates device authentication. The backend manages API access and uses the verification result in the application’s login logic.

The flow starts with the client asking the backend to begin verification. The backend initiates authorization and returns a URL, which the client opens over the mobile network. This lets the operator identify the subscription associated with the connection. An authorization code then arrives at the configured callback. The backend exchanges it for an access token and calls the Number Verification API with the phone number being checked. The API returns true or false, the backend uses that in its authentication logic, and the login continues.

That flow needs the device to have mobile data enabled, because the operator identifies the subscriber from the connection itself. For users on Wi-Fi, mobile OS applications can utilize either ConnectivityManager on Android, or NWConnection on iOS to route the verification over mobile data. From there, the call to Number Verification is the same. Either way, the implementation consists of the same two parts.

For the end user, all of this happens in the background. There's no code to enter, and if the application already knows their number, they don't type that in either.

BeeHealthy’s developers knew their platform and the login experience they wanted to build. On the Nokia side, we brought the network API expertise to support that implementation. That's why one knowledge-sharing session and a day of integration work were enough.

For me, BeeHealthy’s implementation shows how Number Verification can support a healthcare login use case while creating a simpler user experience. For developers, walking through the implementation gives a clearer starting point for their own applications. And for the customer opening the application, it means one less SMS code between them and their appointment.

Ready to explore Number Verification for your own application? Learn how to get started in the Nokia Network as Code documentation.