Nearly 20 states now allow for residents to add their driver’s license to Apple Wallet.
Oklahoma has just become the latest state to do this, MacRumors reports, bringing the exact total up to 16. According to Oklahoma Voice, officials passed a motion earlier this year allowing for state residents to add licenses to digital wallets found on phones and smartwatches.
MacRumors explains that this digital ID can be used to prove one’s identity or age at around 250 participating TSA checkpoints nationwide, select businesses, select apps, certain entertainment venues, and even to law enforcement (should they accept it). Passports, too, can be added for domestic travel.
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“It has better security than just a normal credential you carry in your pocket,” said the bill’s author Rep. Dell Kerbs. “So it’s a great option to be able to use as we transfer into the digital world.”
However, Oklahoma officials emphasize that this is more of a “companion option” to physical identification, and should not be viewed as a replacement. People are therefore required to continue carrying and maintaining their physical credentials.
The Virginia Mercury explains that individuals can present an ID in Apple Wallet by holding their device near a reader, which then displays the requested information. This information is only released after the user reviews it and authorizes its release via Face ID or Touch ID.
“This is a very secure way of passing information as well, because what’s in the app only gives TSA officers the information they need to verify: Is the credential real, authentic?” TSA spokesman Carter Langston told the Mercury. “Does the photo match the person standing in front? Do they have boarding status? Do they have screening status?”
Langston adds: “We don’t need to know where they live. We don’t need to know their age or date of birth. That information isn’t passed to TSA in this app.”
