Apple launches digital IDs based on US passports to Wallet

U.S. passports are coming to iPhones and Apple Watches, with the company adding support for digital IDs created with them to Apple Wallet. The form digitalized passports will take is a new credential that ever-direct Apple calls Digital ID.

Digital IDs will be accepted at TSA checkpoints for domestic flights in 250 airports across the U.S. for identity verification checks. Additional checkpoints and use cases accepting digital ID are expected to follow. They will not substitute for physical passports for crossing borders.

Apple has been working on digital IDs based on passports for a while, after bringing state-issued IDs like mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) to Apple Wallet in 2021. State IDs need to be REAL ID-compliant, though, so are still not available in some states. mDLs from 12 states and Puerto Rico are currently supported, as is Japan’s My Number Card. Google Wallet added support for Puerto Rican IDs to a list that includes 10 states at the end of October.

Apple VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet Jennifer Bailey confirmed at Money20/20 a few weeks ago that U.S. passports would be supported in Apple Wallet by the end of this year.

“Since introducing the ability to add a driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet in 2022, we’ve seen how much users love having their ID right on their devices,” says Bailey in the company announcement. “Digital IDs brings this secure and convenient option to even more users across the country, as they can now add an ID to Wallet using information from their U.S. passport.”

The announcement describes the process for creating a Digital ID with a U.S. passport, including a document scan, a selfie for face biometrics matching and an active liveness check.

Presentations of Digital IDs in Apple Wallets also use biometrics for authentication, whether Touch ID fingerprints or Face ID. Digital ID data is encrypted, and users can review the information being requested and authorize it to share it without showing or handing over their device.

Bailey also said at Money20/20 that Apple Wallets could soon hold hotel keys, car keys, and student IDs as well.

Article Topics

Apple  |  Apple Digital ID  |  Apple Wallet  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  passports  |  TSA  |  United States