November 27, 2025

In-Browser OCR ID-scan for KYC: the Fastest Route to Protect Businesses from Chile’s Increasing Surveillance in Data Processing

In 1999 Chile became the first South American country to enact data storing and processing standards with their Law No. 19.628 «On the Protection of Private Life». To this day it sets baseline rules for how public bodies and private entities in Chile must handle personal information. The current regulations are far less stringent compared with foreign ones – European GDPR and Chinese PIPL – however, that will not be for long.

Starting December 1, 2026, Chile’s new Personal Data Protection Law 21.719 (PDPL) will replace the Law No. 19.628 and markedly expand obligations and the scope of affected companies. The law introduces GDPR-style features: substantial fines and rigid framework for how personal data must be collected. As a result, both organizations operating in Chile and those that process Chileans’ data abroad will face accountability for violations once the law takes effect.

Below, we discuss the key changes awaiting businesses that serve customers in Chile and introduce our solution for achieving full compliance – ID scanning technology for in-browser KYC, the fastest and most practical way to adapt to the new conditions without degrading user experience or service availability.

Chile’s GDPR: What Are the Key Changes The New Law Introduces?

The PDPL differs from the «Protection of Private Life» law fundamentally. Here are the main distinctions:

• Extraterritorial scope. The PDPL applies to organizations outside Chile as well – all that matters is whether personal data of individuals in Chile is processed.

• Large fines for violations. Penalties can range from 5 000 to 20 000 national tax units (~$368 000 – $1 472 000) or 2-4% of a company's global income.

• Designated regulator. The new law creates a dedicated Personal Data Protection Agency (PDPA) with investigatory and sanctioning powers.

• Notification duties. Companies must notify the PDPA of any incident that may result in a data breach. They are also required to document these incidents with details of the nature of the breach, actual or potential impact, types of data, the number of individuals affected, and the steps taken to prevent recurrence.

With these changes, any company processing Chileans’ personal data should reassess how they conduct KYC procedures. If the existing customer identification systems do not meet the new standards, companies will need to redesign them or adopt safer methods to avoid the PDPL fines and other sanctions.

What Is the Safest Way to Ensure Full Compliance with Chile’s PDPL?

In OCR Studio we are convinced that the easiest way to guarantee compliance with Chile’s PDPL and even more stringent regulations is to avoid storing and transmitting clients’ personal data at all. This is possible with our cutting-edge ID scanning technology, which adheres to our privacy-first approach – meaning the system doesn’t save or transmit PII from the end-user’s device to perform ID recognition for KYC procedures.

Moreover, our OCR ID-scan can be deployed right on the company's web page thanks to the WebAssembly (Wasm) technology. In this case, ID scanning speed remains at a near-native level, and service accessibility increases sharply as customers receive the same user experience regardless of their browser or device. They don’t even have to download any apps, which removes some of the barriers and boosts conversion. Browser-based OCR ID-scan can be integrated seamlessly with any existing system, making the transition to regulatory-compliant KYC quick and simple.

How Is In-Browser KYC with OCR ID-scan Performed in Practice?

In practice, with our ID scanning technology the only thing customers have to do in order to prove their identity across fintech, healthcare, government, and many other platforms is to open the official web page and scan their ID document with a desktop or mobile phone camera. We support more than 4 000 document templates in 100+ languages, including Spanish, which is Chile’s state language. In other words, the KYC procedure can be successfully completed within a couple of seconds, once the client presents a passport, ID card, driving license, or any other identity document.

OCR ID-scan protects businesses not only from law violations in the field of personal data processing but also from fraudulent use of forged documents. To deliver this, the algorithm performs document cross-validation – a special authenticity check in which visually inspected information from the document is compared to the data, encoded in the MRZ, and the data, stored on the NFC chip. The latter is commonly used in biometric passports and other eIDs, already issued by more than 140 countries worldwide.

Browser-Based ID Scanning for KYC by OCR Studio

OCR Studio develops powerful and secure ID and passport scanning solutions for banks, insurance companies, telecom operators, and more. Our advanced OCR technologies instantly recognize text in any document, work fully offline, and operate completely on-premise.

Browser-based OCR ID-scan for KYC procedures helps businesses ensure full regulatory compliance across Chile and the rest of South America, as well as in many other regions worldwide. Find out more about the technology here.