There are few feelings more gut-wrenching than standing in an airport security line and realizing you don’t have your passport or driver’s license to show as proof of identification. Last week, Apple launched Digital ID, a partial solution to this significant source of travel anxiety, allowing travelers to store their passport—in addition to their driver’s license—on their phone or watch.
The feature potentially eliminates the need to carry physical credentials when traveling domestically. But can it truly help forgetful fliers, or is it too limited to fully help avoid the embarrassment and inconvenience of being grounded without documentation?
What is the new Apple Digital ID?
Apple’s new Digital ID expands on its previous ID capability, enabling users to store their U.S. passports in the Wallet app on iPhones and Apple Watches. Since 2022, Apple users have been able to add driver’s licenses and Real IDs to their digital wallets for use at eligible U.S. airports and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints for domestic flights.
How do you add your driver’s license or passport to your Apple Wallet?
In order to add your driver’s license or U.S. passport to your Apple Wallet you will need to scan the physical version of your driver’s license or passport, so it is not something you can create without your driver’s license on passport on your person. Apple has helpful instructional videos on how to add your driver’s license, and on how to add your passport to your Wallet.
Will TSA accept Apple’s new Digital ID and passport?
This depends on where you’re trying to use it. At some airports, you can use a digital version of your driver’s license to travel domestically, but only in 13 states and Puerto Rico so far, though Apple expects that number to grow. The states that accept Apple’s Digital ID are:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Montana
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- West Virginia
As for the digital passport, upon launch, more than 250 airports across the United States are accepting digital passports stored on Apple devices for boarding domestic flights, according to Apple. But a list of exact airports hasn’t been provided.
TSA has an online list of the types of mobile IDs accepted in each state, which travelers who want to know which digital ID they can use and where can reference.
Can I use Apple’s Digital ID version of a passport at home or abroad?
Apple’s Digital ID passports can only be used for domestic flights. At the moment, an Apple Digital ID passport is not valid for international travel or for crossing borders. To extend the use to international flights, Apple would need to negotiate agreements with individual countries and travel regions such as the European Union. There’s also no indication of whether the digital passport would prove useful in any way if you were to lose your U.S. passport while abroad.
What are the benefits of using Apple’s Digital ID?
Right now, use cases for the new passport offering are relatively limited. If you’re at a participating airport, ready to board a domestic flight, and you don’t have your physical ID, you can pull up the digital version of either your passport or driver’s license on your phone or watch, and be cleared to board. In the future, there could be some potential time-saving applications online such as booking a flight without having to find your actual ID to input the details (as you would have them readily available on your phone). And the digital IDs could eventually be used outside of the airport for age verification at a bar, club or to buy alcohol, depending on the policies of whichever store or venue you’re visiting.
However, the most significant benefit may be security-focused. “For the very first time, we have an ID that cannot be forged and cannot be faked,” Peter Horadan, CEO of Vouched, a provider of digital identity verification solutions, told Afar. “I think that digital IDs are going to be transformative for fraud prevention and for fixing the problem of ID theft.”
Digital identification is “cryptographically signed by the state,” according to Horadan, which means nobody other than the state can create these IDs. They can also be protected on the user’s end by biometric and facial recognition technology on a phone or watch.
Can I leave my physical ID at home?
In the small print under Apple’s instructions for adding an ID to the Wallet, the company states: “ID in Wallet is not a replacement for a physical ID, which may still be needed.” While participating TSA checkpoints do accept this form of ID, other government entities, such as law enforcement, most likely won’t, according to Apple’s terms and conditions. The same applies to the new passport function.
And there are technical issues to consider. Sometimes, low-tech solutions are the most dependable. If your phone runs out of battery, the screen breaks, or you forget your PIN, you’ll no longer be able to identify yourself and will be unable to board a flight.
Can I use Apple’s Digital ID as a valid driver’s license?
If you’re renting a car, Apple says the digital ID works with some rental car apps. However, major companies such as Enterprise explicitly state that digital IDs are not currently accepted.
Are there any privacy concerns to consider?
Apple’s Digital ID data is encrypted, which protects it from tampering or theft. Because it’s also guarded by biometric authentication or Face ID and Touch ID, a thief would find the digital ID more difficult to use than a stolen physical passport.
However, privacy experts are always concerned about “feature creep,” in which tech companies gradually change the parameters of their applications until they become invasive. For example, social media offerings like Instagram and Facebook are constantly adding new features, and occasionally they alter the way data is stored, gathered, or protected.
Are any other Digital ID services available?
Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet also offer the option to create a digital ID using your passport or state ID, with benefits and restrictions similar to Apple’s. They can be used at supported TSA checkpoints, but only for domestic flights and never to cross a border.
Several states have their own apps that can be used in the same circumstances. They’re listed on the TSA website.
