✈️ Show your driver's ID on iPhone

Love this, but wish it was available in California!

Wouldn’t you love not having to yank out your driver’s ID when entering an airport?

What if you could instead just show it on your iPhone, like we do with boarding passes?

I’m all for it, and thrilled that Apple this week said Arizona and Georgia will be the first states to begin accepting IDs on the iPhone and Apple Watch at their airports shortly.

Ahem, two states that aren’t exactly tech hubs, and have been the source of too many false claims of alleged “voter fraud” jumped to the head of the line in front of California!

Which just happens to be Apple’s home base. You would think Cupertino, California based Apple might want to give it a shot here too.

Apple says it’s talking to all the states, and hopes to cut deals soon. I can only assume that red tape, (have you ever tried reaching a California state division on the phone?) is the culprit here, not Apple’s reluctance to get the program rolling locally.

This morning on the beach. This was the first time I’ve seen a parked e-bike there.

Apple didn’t announce a date for Georgia and Arizona, only to say they would be rolling out to folks in these states first, followed by Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah.

In Apple’s press release, state officials enthused about the new process, calling it more secure than a standard physical license, which people have been copying as fakes for years.

With Apple’s system, a photograph of the license is taken and imported into the iPhone’s Wallet app, and secured with facial ID and other biometric movements, a move the states love.

Matt Cole, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Vehicle Regulation called the iPhone ID a way to offer modern conveniences to Kentuckians, “while maintaining our unwavering commitment to security and privacy.”

Eric Jorgensen, director of the Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division echoed the comment, saying said a digital version of a driver’s license “offers increased security and privacy for our residents, making it something everyone should consider.”

Like I said, I hate walking up to the TSA agent and fumbling with a license and phone for my boarding pass, and then having to quickly get them back into the wallet awkwardly as I rush over to throw bags on the inspection conveyor. Soon, one day (if I ever fly again!) I’ll just show the Wallet app, and flip through the ID and boarding pass. (Apple says Wallet users will get a special unique place on the line.)

At first blush, Apple is just working with TSA, but let’s keep this thing going. Hotels now ask to see credit card and ID when we check in. Smartphone only please! I went to FedEx Office today to send a package, and for that I had to show a driver’s license, for some insane reason that wasn’t explained to me.

As many of my readers know, I ditched my physical wallet 3 years ago, and now just use an iPhone case that doubles as a mini-wallet, with room for a handful of credit cards, driver’s ID and a little cash, except that I rarely ever have anything more than $5 or so in there.

There’s a good reason for being cashless. Did you read this harrowing story in the Washington Post today about the former Marine who had $87,000 taken from him by police?

If he had decided to go Venmo only, like me, he’d be a wealthier man today! And perhaps by showing a digital ID secured by biometrics, the police would have been less suspecting of him?

What are your thoughts about a digital ID? Will you sign up immediately, or do you have vaccine like worries about Big Brother? Let me know your feelings in the comments!