In NJ and plenty of states there is a bar code on the back that the officer would take the license back to their vehicle and scan it. How will that happen unless the officer has a handheld device? Also wouldn't want anyone using a personal device to take a pic of my license, the data isn't secure.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's Kevin Lynch Explains How IDs Will Work on Apple Watch in watchOS 8
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Indeed, Australia has digital drivers licenses/photo IDs on smartphones, too. New South Wales anyway, not sure which other states. Those cards are issued by states, not Federal.
In NSW, the drivers license lives in the ServiceNSW app, and has an animated hologram that looks and changes very much like that on a physical card as you move the phone around. Screenshots won’t work there.
Won't it be great when your state ID, SS card, credit cards, browsing habits, personal conversations and medical info are all readily available in one place and the politicians create backdoors on all your devices! It will be so convenient to be able to click a link and get hijacked.
This to me, is the way of the future. I cannot stand having a 'thick' wallet with countless cards that I might use once a year, if that.
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
I'm sure my state will think this is the "mark of the beast" or some stupid stuff and not get on board, just like they haven't gotten on board with COVID contact tracing (and incidentally, we're now the state with the most new COVID cases! Fun!)
I just tried this. I and it unlocked the whole phone. It is kind of hard to look at your phone without unlocking it fully regardless on if you are doing an Apple Pay transaction or not. I'd only use this for bars or liquor sales, which ironically will probably be the last places to get on board with it.
The last I heard the DVLA were trialling adding driving licences to wallet, but that was a while ago and things seem to have gone quiet. Hope remains, though!This to me, is the way of the future. I cannot stand having a 'thick' wallet with countless cards that I might use once a year, if that.
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
Florida is working on a digital version.
Thales to Provide Mobile Driver Licenses to State of Florida
Yes, this will be the future and all the people who are under 21 now will be saying, "those people from the 1900's who used to wear wallets..."This to me, is the way of the future. I cannot stand having a 'thick' wallet with countless cards that I might use once a year, if that.
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
Colorado already has an app with a digital ID. Currently it is not a legal ID to present to a police officer, but I assume it would be better than nothing. I have a shortcut setup for the app that turns on "guided access" when the app is opened. This essentially locks the phone into the ID app.
I have a couple of expand hinged hard shell wallets ($5 each) that I keep in my car center console. These contain the cards I'd only use when I'm out. The ones I use all the time, and my business cards, go in the same type of wallet with me. I hate fat wallets.This to me, is the way of the future. I cannot stand having a 'thick' wallet with countless cards that I might use once a year, if that.
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
We expect this to be rolled out in a decent timeframe but how many places still don't have chip readers for cards.. Gas station closest to my job just added chip readers on pumps and boy are they terrible. Wide adoption seems to come around by the time there's a new standard, like tap to pay or NFC payments.
I just added my Clipper transit card to my wallet. Seamless, enter a few bits of data, then lay phone on the card and everything transfers. However, the card option is now deprecated and it's no longer useable - I'll keep the card around in case I need to re-instate it if phone channel fails or doesn't work satisfactorily for me. We'll see - managing a phone on the scanner with luggage in my other three hands or an umbrella may be more awkward than a card.
If and when I get an Apple Watch this will be way better for me.
Thats actually not how this system works! Like you hoped, it is closer to NFC or QR-code in-person payment systems (hence being spearheaded by the Apple Pay team on Apple's side).
Basically how I expect it to work:
- You hold up your phone with a QR code which they scan, or you tap a NFC reader. Device never leaves your hand.
- The two devices start chatting wirelessly
- The other side (TSA, officer, rental clerk) asks for specific information
- You get a prompt showing you what personal information they want/need, omitting details they don't need - but usually including your official photo.
- Send/deny. I think there's FaceID/TouchID checks in use, so if you handed your phone over they actually can't finish the process - but of course, you may have just handed them your unlocked phone, so don't do that.
- Info shows up on their screen with maybe a marker saying it is correctly signed by <gov agency>
- They compare you to the photo on their screen to make sure it is "your" info
- off you go.
I believe Google is working here too - but Google Pay is kinda separate from Android proper, so no idea when it launches to users there.
You can kinda see how they will likely move this more to the "online" model too eventually and might move it to other documents, like presenting your passport to an airline app as part of booking international travel (so more like online Apple Pay).
Thats a little different because they can't check the photo like in-person - that airline would know its a real document but has to work around not knowing it is _your_ document at that time. I mean, they can compare the name to the name on your account, but who says that is your name on the account?
This site says that police are now equipped to do the whole QR code scanning thing. I hope this means they get apple wallet support soon too.
The app is BUGGY as hell though. Trying to set up an ID in there is like pulling teeth. The reviews for the Arizona ID app show this is pretty much the norm for it.
My state has an app that stores my RealID and it can be presented and verified. In the FAQ, the developer states that they are working so that law enforcement will have equipment that can read the digital versions without them having to physically touch your device. The officer can then return to his vehicle and run your ID.
If you use them "maybe once a year" leave them home. Just carry 1 or 2 most used and put the rest in your Apple wallet.This to me, is the way of the future. I cannot stand having a 'thick' wallet with countless cards that I might use once a year, if that.
However, I do hope in America, ALL states accept this new form of presenting IDs. Of course, I need my home country, UK, to fall in line, too
That’s a clever idea. What makes you think law enforcement is going to invest the millions of dollars it would take to create an interface for this feature and the millions more (not to mention the time) it would take to train police to use it? What is the incentive for them to spend all that money and energy to adopt such a feature as you describe? How does it improve safety in our communities or further the mission of law enforcement? If you cannot quickly and easily formulate a logical and coherent response, I wouldn’t anticipate such a feature any time soon.
The breadcrumbs left by technology can surely be a gold mine for investigators. Perhaps that will be the incentive if they find many people don’t lock their phones and this makes accessing their ID and other goodies hi that much easier during an investigation. But, anything requiring interface with police equipment won’t happen until there is a law that requires it or law enforcement determines it provides enough benefits to outweigh what will be substantial costs.
