Reprinted from TidBITS by permission; reuse governed by Creative Commons license BY-NC-ND 3.0. TidBITS has offered years of thoughtful commentary on Apple and Internet topics. For free email subscriptions and access to the entire TidBITS archive, visit http://www.tidbits.com/ Apple Introduces Digital ID, but It Doesn't Replace Your Passport Adam Engst Apple continues to push forward with adding digital ID cards to Apple Wallet (see '[1]Apple Announces Details of Storing State IDs in Wallet,' 2 September 2021). Currently, iPhone users can add a driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app in 12 US states'Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia came online recently'and Puerto Rico. Those in Japan can add My Number Card. Apple has now launched the more general [2]Digital ID, which will initially roll out in beta at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 US airports for in-person identity verification during domestic travel. Apple promises more ways to use Digital ID in the future. You create a Digital ID by scanning the photo page of your US passport and allowing the iPhone to read the embedded chip via NFC. It's an easy, if slightly fussy, process that [3]Apple documents well. It took me just a few minutes to add my Digital ID and for Wallet to verify it. You're asked to make several movements during the verification phase, which, along with the selfie or Live Photo, likely prevents most spoofing techniques. (Facial spoofing always makes me think of the '[4]Columbo and the Murder of a Rock Star' TV episode, where the murderer's alibi relies on a photo taken from an automatic speed camera'but it was really [5]an accomplice with a flat, photographic mask.) Presenting a Digital ID is basically the same as paying with Apple Pay. Double-click the side or Home button, tap the Digital ID, and place the top of the iPhone near the identity reader. Your iPhone can remain locked, but you review a consent sheet showing who's requesting your data, what fields will be shared, and whether they'll retain it, and you authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID. You don't need to unlock, show, or hand over your device. You can also present your Digital ID with an Apple Watch by double'clicking the side button. Some identity checkpoints may require additional steps'the TSA identity readers capture your image for comparison with the image presented from your Digital ID. As always, Apple emphasizes how the information associated with a Digital ID is both private and secure. It's worth reading [6]Apple's detailed description of what information is shared with issuing authorities, temporarily with Apple during setup, and when you present the Digital ID. It all sounds sensible enough to me, though I suspect those with heightened privacy concerns won't be swayed either way. The bigger problem with the Digital ID is that it solves hardly any real-world problems. Although you can create a Digital ID from a passport, it's not a replacement for a physical passport and cannot be used for international travel or border crossings. The main people who stand to benefit significantly from a Digital ID are those who fly domestically but don't have (or frequently fail to carry) a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or state ID. That seems like a tricky proposition to me. If you live in one of the 12 states with support for digital driver's licenses, you might think that the combination would be good enough to leave your physical driver's license at home. However, as I wrote in '[7]California Driver's Licenses in Apple Wallet Largely Symbolic' (16 August 2024)'and nothing appears to have changed'all of these states tell residents to continue to carry their physical driver's licenses to present to law enforcement. Even Apple acknowledges this in light gray fine print at the bottom of the [8]Add Your Driver's License to Apple Wallet page, saying: ID in Wallet is not a replacement for a physical ID which may still be needed (e.g. for use with law enforcement). Look, I'm philosophically inclined toward living digitally when possible, but the value proposition for Digital ID and digital versions of state driver's licenses just isn't compelling. If I have to carry my driver's license whenever I leave the house in the car'which includes getting to an airport for a domestic flight or driving to a liquor store'there's little benefit to being able to present digital identification in favor of the physical card that lives in my iPhone wallet case anyway. I'll probably try the Digital ID the next time I fly, but more out of curiosity than any belief that it will be a significantly different user experience. Have you found a situation where a digital ID stored in the Wallet app has been more than a novelty? References Visible links 1. https://tidbits.com/2021/09/02/apple-announces-details-of-storing-state-ids-in-wallet/ 2. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/apple-introduces-digital-id-a-new-way-to-create-and-present-an-id-in-apple-wallet/ 3. https://support.apple.com/en-us/123719?cid=mc-ols-verify_passport-article_123719-wallet_app-07242025#:~:text=to%20Apple%20Wallet.-,create%20a%20digital%20id%20on%20your%20iphone%20and%20apple%20watch,-You%20can%20create 4. https://columbophile.com/2022/01/09/episode-review-columbo-and-the-murder-of-a-rock-star/ 5. https://columbophile.com/2022/01/09/episode-review-columbo-and-the-murder-of-a-rock-star/#:~:text=have%20committed%20murder.-,creighton%20is%20suitably%20rattled,-to%20try%20to 6. https://support.apple.com/en-us/118260 7. https://tidbits.com/2024/08/16/california-drivers-licenses-in-apple-wallet-largely-symbolic/ 8. https://support.apple.com/en-us/111803 Hidden links: 9. https://tidbits.com/uploads/2025/11/Digital-ID-scaled.jpg .