Some California residents will be able to add their driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet soon, Apple announced Thursday.
Apple’s announcement doesn’t say when the mobile driver’s licenses will be rolled out, just that it will happen “this fall” as part of California’s mobile driver’s license (mDL) pilot. The pilot, which will be limited to 1.5 million participants, will let users traveling through certain terminals at Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports go through TSA screening without handing over their driver’s licenses — or their phones.
To enroll, users must scan their driver’s license or ID, then scan a photo of their face. People who participate in the pilot program will be able to use mobile IDs to buy certain age-restricted products at specific retail locations in Sacramento and to pass through some airport security checkpoints.
Apple Wallet IDs are also available in Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, and Ohio. New York launched its own Mobile ID app in June, which can similarly be used for identity verification at airports. Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri have their own mobile ID programs as well.
State-run mobile ID apps have sparked security concerns. This January, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Surveillance Resistance Lab asked New York’s DMV to pause its forthcoming mobile ID pilot program. In a letter to DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder, the organizations said mobile driver’s licenses could be used as pretext for police to seize phones during routine stops, or to stop people from filming police interactions. The letter also mentioned the possibility that users’ information could be recorded and tracked by third parties.
Apple claims IDs stored in Apple Wallet aren’t accessible by third parties — including Apple. According to Apple’s press release, driver’s license information added to Apple Wallet is only stored on a user’s device and cannot be accessed “unless a user chooses to present it.” Apple and the state-issuing authority — e.g., the department of motor vehicles — don’t know “when or where or with whom a user presents their driver’s license or state ID,” the announcement says.
