Photo: Apple
Back in June, Apple announced that the next version of iOS, the operating system powering the iPhone, would integrate support for digital IDs, essentially allowing owners to enroll their driver’s licenses and state IDs in the Wallet app for more convenience.
This means we’d no longer have to carry around the traditional documents, though obviously, the whole thing wouldn’t be possible unless state authorities themselves approve it.
And this week, the Cupertino-based tech giant announced that a total of 8 American states would accept digital IDs via the Apple Wallet, beginning with Arizona and Georgia.
Apple says the TSA will allow the scanning of digital documents at select airport security checkpoints, but most likely, the locations where Apple Wallet documents are supported would increase gradually.
According to Apple, the eight states where digital documents stored on the iPhone will be accepted are Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah, and more will follow soon.
If you’re worried that storing your driver’s license on an iPhone involves major privacy risks, the tech giant explains that whenever your details are shared with a scanner, the whole thing happens through encrypted communications. And given the digital IDs are stored in the Apple Wallet app, you don’t even need to unlock the iPhone.
Furthermore, only the person who enrolled the documents in the Wallet app can allow them to be scanned by an identity reader, obviously using biometric authentication (either fingerprint or facial recognition based on hardware installed in the mobile device).
If your iPhone gets stolen, the Find My app allows owners to track the device, lock it, and remotely erase all the data stored on it, including the digital documents.
Without a doubt, storing a driver’s license on an iPhone or Apple Watch makes the whole thing a lot more convenient, and in the long term, more documents could be replaced by smartphones, pretty much turning traditional wallets into a redundant accessory of the past.
And this week, the Cupertino-based tech giant announced that a total of 8 American states would accept digital IDs via the Apple Wallet, beginning with Arizona and Georgia.
Apple says the TSA will allow the scanning of digital documents at select airport security checkpoints, but most likely, the locations where Apple Wallet documents are supported would increase gradually.
According to Apple, the eight states where digital documents stored on the iPhone will be accepted are Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah, and more will follow soon.
If you’re worried that storing your driver’s license on an iPhone involves major privacy risks, the tech giant explains that whenever your details are shared with a scanner, the whole thing happens through encrypted communications. And given the digital IDs are stored in the Apple Wallet app, you don’t even need to unlock the iPhone.
Furthermore, only the person who enrolled the documents in the Wallet app can allow them to be scanned by an identity reader, obviously using biometric authentication (either fingerprint or facial recognition based on hardware installed in the mobile device).
If your iPhone gets stolen, the Find My app allows owners to track the device, lock it, and remotely erase all the data stored on it, including the digital documents.
Without a doubt, storing a driver’s license on an iPhone or Apple Watch makes the whole thing a lot more convenient, and in the long term, more documents could be replaced by smartphones, pretty much turning traditional wallets into a redundant accessory of the past.
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