Apple has taken another step further in its pursuit of a single device using Apple Digital IDs.
iPhone users in Arizona will be able to upload their government-issued IDs or driver’s licenses to their Apple Wallets and utilize the Apple Digital IDs instead of their physical counterparts with TSA authorities at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport beginning immediately, according to Apple. Arizona is only the first of several states where Apple has promised to provide digital IDs, a promise that comes with its own set of privacy issues. Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah are next on Apple’s list.
Apple Digital IDs Is A Step Towards Apple’s Goal Of One-Device
The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s head of engineering, Alexis Hancock, voiced misgivings about Apple’s plans.
Apple previously announced its plans to allow iPhone users to save their IDs in the iOS Wallet app in June of 2021. The business said in September of that year that Arizona and Georgia state Apple Digital IDs will be the first to be accepted by the Wallet app. The TSA will accept the Apple Wallet ID, according to Wednesday’s statement. The corporate drive away from physical IDs is continuing forward, and the TSA will accept the Apple Wallet ID, according to Wednesday’s release (at least in Arizona).
Apple made a point of emphasizing that it has considered all privacy problems related to converting one’s phone into a form of ID — the same device that stores financial information, personal email and messages, images, health data, physical location data, and internet browsing history.
Users, who did not wish to hand up their unlocked phones to officials, were told that they would not be obliged to do so.
Apple is requesting that people believe that it has done all of the required research.