Apple’s Digital ID: Because Flashing Your Passport Is So 2010

Apple’s Digital ID: The Future of Identification (Or Just Another Apple Flex?)

In its ongoing mission to make wallets obsolete and humans more trackable—I mean, “securely identifiable”—Apple has unveiled Digital ID, a new feature that lets users create a digital version of their U.S. passport right inside Apple Wallet. The company calls it “a secure and private way to store and present your identity.” Tech skeptics might call it a “beta test for the future of surveillance.” Tomato, tomahto.

For now, Apple’s Digital ID is only useful in one place: TSA checkpoints at over 250 U.S. airports. That’s right, it’s still easier to board a plane than to buy a drink with it. But hey, one step closer to living in Apple’s ecosystem where the only thing you need to exist is a charged battery and your Face ID.

How It Works (And Why It’s Kind of a Big Deal)

Creating a Digital ID is exactly what you’d expect from Apple: slick, slightly over-engineered, and privacy-forward to the point of paranoia. You open Wallet, tap the “+” button, select “Digital ID,” and scan your passport’s photo page and embedded chip. Then you take a selfie, perform a few head wiggles, and boom—you’ve got an Apple-verified digital self.

It’s part James Bond gadget, part DMV line escape hatch. Apple’s facial motion prompts are meant to stop fraud, but let’s be honest—most people will look like they’re auditioning for an interpretive dance recital.

Once verified, your Digital ID sits neatly next to your other Wallet treasures—credit cards, boarding passes, maybe a concert ticket you’ll never use. When you need it, double-click your iPhone or Apple Watch, hold it near an identity reader, approve the info via Face ID, and move on like the tech-savvy cyborg you were always meant to be.

Security and Privacy: Apple’s Favorite Buzzwords

Apple swears that your Digital ID data stays encrypted on your device. The company claims it doesn’t know when, where, or how you use it—which sounds comforting until you remember how many “anonymous analytics” get shared in the name of “product improvement.”

Still, the privacy design is impressive: You don’t have to unlock your phone, hand it over, or even show the screen. Only the requested information is shared, and you get to approve each request with Face ID or Touch ID. In theory, it’s a more secure process than showing a plastic card to a stranger under a flickering airport light.

And let’s face it—TSA agents losing your passport info is way scarier than your phone verifying your existence.

What It’s Not (Yet)

Before you start deleting your passport photos and shredding your driver’s license, let’s pump the brakes. Digital ID isn’t a passport replacement. You still can’t use it for international travel or border crossings. Apple made sure to emphasize that—it’s basically a fancy domestic travel perk for now.

Also, only those with a valid U.S. passport can create one. So if your passport expired in 2018 or you’re one of those “I’ll get around to it” types, you’re out of luck. You can still add a driver’s license or state ID in supported states, but the Digital ID’s “nationwide rollout” is a slow, bureaucratic crawl—because government tech moves slower than iTunes updates in 2007.

Why Apple Wants to Own Your Identity

Since 2022, Apple’s been inching toward making your iPhone the single point of contact between you and the world. First, they put your keys in your phone. Then your credit cards. Now, your face and passport. Next up: your soul (via a future iOS update, probably).

The move isn’t just about convenience; it’s about ecosystem stickiness. Once your ID lives in Apple Wallet, switching to Android becomes less likely. You’re not just a user anymore—you’re part of the infrastructure.

And while Apple’s privacy-first stance gives it moral high ground over, say, Meta or Google, it’s still Apple. A trillion-dollar company that will absolutely profit from making itself indispensable to your daily life.

The Bigger Picture

Digital ID is a preview of where identity is heading—toward a world where physical documents are relics and everything that proves who you are lives behind a biometric lock screen. Apple just happens to be the first major player to make it consumer-friendly.

Give it a few years, and your “Apple ID” might literally be your ID. The DMV will still exist, but it’ll probably have an iPad check-in kiosk and a “Sign in with Apple” option.

Until then, Digital ID remains a clever, controlled step toward a future where forgetting your phone is worse than forgetting your wallet. Because without it, you might as well not exist.