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Do you keep forgetting your ID during a night out? Your iPhone can now act as a digital driver’s license in these four states… here’s how
Apple has a handy feature for those who constantly forget their ID at home.
Forgetful individuals can store their driver’s license or state ID in Apple Wallet.
The ID is encrypted and stored in the same secure element as airline credit, transit and boarding passes.
Users simply upload their IDs like they would a credit card by opening Wallet and selecting “Driver’s License or State ID,” then choosing their state of residence.
However, the feature is only available in certain states: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, and Georgia.
IDs can be added to an iPhone 8 or later along with an Apple Watch Series 4 or later and read by tapping the device on a scanner.
Users simply upload their IDs as they would a credit card by opening Wallet and selecting “Driver’s License or State ID,” then choosing their state of residence
Apple unveiled the ability to store IDs in Wallet as part of the iOS 15 updates at the 2021 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
While only a few states are eligible, Apple noted two years ago that Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah are the other states that will be involved in the feature’s rollout in the near future.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be the first federal agency to approve the use of digital licenses at airport security checkpoints in the first eight states to implement the feature.
Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet platforms Jennifer Bailey said in a 2021 statement: “We’re excited that the TSA and so many states are already on board to bring this to life for travelers across the country who only have their iPhone and Apple Watch, and we’re already in talks with many more states as we work to offer this nationwide in the future.
IDs can be added to an iPhone 8 or later along with an Apple Watch Series 4 or later and read by tapping the device on a scanner
The tech giant has reassured its users that the feature is “built with privacy first” and that personal data on digital IDs will not be tracked or shared.
The issue of potential privacy leaks has also been raised.
While the new feature is only available for TSA use in a handful of states, it’s hard to envision a future with an interaction where users present digital state driver’s licenses or IDs to law enforcement without knowing how police officers will interact with the person’s phone if their driver’s license is on it, especially if they have to take it back to their police car.
American Civil Liberties Union raised the question in a recent report on the impact of the introduction of digital IDs in society and the potential for abuse by law enforcement.
“Given rampant, questionable police searches of mobile devices, legal protections against such searches – already needed – will become even more important if people’s smartphones are to become a central and routine part of interactions with law enforcement,” the report said. .
The rollout of Apple’s plan to replace physical wallets has not yet been announced in the other 42 states.
In 2020, Apple filed patents for “a device that implements a system for using an authenticated identity claim,” Apple Insider reported.
The company reported that 48 percent of iPhone owners worldwide use Apple Pay.
The US is second only to the UK in Apple Pay adoption out of 17 countries globally ranked for adoption rates.