Trust and Legitimacy
Controls to establish credibility and build user trust in digital services
TL-1: Official Government Domain
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Use .gov.sg domain for web-based digital services. Education Institutions may use .edu.sg. domain.
Control Recommendations
Register .gov.sg and .edu.sg domain names on the Whole of Government Domain Name Server (DNS) portal on the IT Service Management (ITSM) portal.
Rationale
Helps end users easily recognise that they are interacting with an authentic government source, reducing the risk of fraud, phishing, or misinformation.
TL-2: Agency or Initiative Logo
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Display the agency/initiative logo on the top left of every page of web-based digital services; Hyperlink the logo to the homepage.
Control Recommendations
The logo should render clearly without distortion or pixellation to maintain trust and reinforce brand reputation.
Rationale
Provides reassurance about the legitimacy of the service.
TL-3: Official Government Banner
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Display the Official Government Banner on every page of web-based .gov.sg digital services.
Control Recommendations
The Official Government banner must be the topmost component of the web service. Use the Singapore Government Design System (SGDS) ‘Official Government Banner’ component.
Not required for SaaS and COTS products that do not allow customisation.
Rationale
Helps end users easily recognize that they are interacting with an authentic government service, reducing the risk of fraud, phishing, or misinformation.
TL-4: Official Government Footer
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Adopt the Official Global Footer on every page of .gov.sg web-based services.
Control Recommendations
Use the basic footer provided by SGDS. The footer must contain
A) The following footer links in this order
i) Contact / Contact Us
i) Feedback
iii) FAQ (if any)
iv) Sitemap (if any)
v) Report Vulnerability
vi) Privacy Statement
vii) Terms of Use
B) Copyright Statement in the format
'© [current year in YYYY], Government of Singapore’
Digital services owned by statutory boards may use the agency’s name instead of 'Government of Singapore'. Not required for pages that are part of transactional services.
Rationale
Provides consistency across government digital services and ensures that end users have access to consistently placed important utility links.
TL-5: Mobile App Ownership and Distribution
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Distribute government mobile applications through official app stores and retain IP rights.
Control Recommendations
Retain full ownership of all intellectual property rights, including copyright. Avoid releasing mobile applications under licenses that permit free distribution. Ensure compliance with platform guidelines for official government endorsement.
Distribute apps only through the following platforms:
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Apple App Store
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Google Play Store
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Huawei AppGallery
Rationale
Minimise the risk of end users downloading unauthorised versions of Government apps. Owning the IP rights provides agencies with a legal basis to request third-party app stores or websites to remove unauthorised versions of Government mobile applications.
TL-6: Application Store Listings
Group: Trust and Legitimacy
Control Statement
Ensure that the agency name is used as the application store developer account name when publishing mobile applications.
Control Recommendations
Use the full agency name
Rationale
Having clear and properly named developer accounts reassures end users of the legitimacy of the mobile app.