Originally published at: California Driver’s Licenses in Apple Wallet Largely Symbolic - TidBITS
Although Apple makes it sound like Californians will be able to ditch their physical driver’s licenses and state IDs in favor of digital versions in the Wallet app, California and the other states supporting digital IDs in Wallet require that you continue to carry your physical ID.
With regards to:
Although Apple makes this launch sound impressive, it’s largely symbolic since you must continue to carry your driver’s license or state ID card.
I didn’t realize that in the U.S. you were required to carry some sort of ID. You can’t just go for walks or hikes or shopping or whatever without an ID on you?
The reason I was thinking about this was all the talk about illegal aliens and I was thinking how attempts at massive roundups would obviously discriminate against anybody who looked Hispanic, but since you weren’t required to have ID on you how could they tell?
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Technically, you are NOT required to carry an ID for most purposes in the US. It is a good idea because many transactions may require an ID. Driving, of course, requires a license, and currently even with an electronic ID you probably need your original license. New York recently implemented electronic IDs, (unfortunately not Apple wallet compatible), but the DMV has stated that they are working towards making it a valid substitute for the paper ID. For example, police will need scanners and procedures to handle electronic ID; liquor stores and bars will need readers, etc. TSA at many airports will recognize the electronic ID already.
On the other hand, IDs are not required to vote in NY and many states. And NY issues driver’s licenses to non-citizens, even those without legal residency status.
As to your point, it is not constutionally permissible to stop random people and check for citizenship without probably cause. Nor is it legally permissible to stop people because they “look hispanic.”
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Technically correct, but in practice, law enforcement stops people for made-up reasons all the time in the US, especially in the South and in more rural areas. And these fake stops happen overwhelmingly to non-white persons. If it happens to you, you may be able to get some legal recompense afterward, but in the moment, you’re generally going to be dependent on the officers’ good will.
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Not the case in Ohio as you still need a physical license for driving and voting:
What is the benefit of having no physical driving license anymore? I always have my wallet with my passport, driving license etc with me anyways.
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I could see a digital ID being handy if a bartender wants to glance at it, but in no circumstance would I ever hand my phone to a police officer or TSA.
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I’d be curious to see a redacted view of one of these digital IDs. My assumption has been that there’s some sort of scannable code, like a QR code, that police or a bartender could scan as well as look at.
Apple says:
When presenting a driver’s license and state ID in Apple Wallet, only the information needed for the transaction is presented, and users will need to review and authorize using Face ID or Touch ID before the information is shared. Users do not need to unlock, show, or hand over their device to present their ID.
Or you could just drive clean and legal. Just a thought. If you give them no pretext, there will be no pre-textual stop.
But you speed past them 20 above the posted limit with expired tags, obscured plate, tinted windows, and no mud flaps, they will stop you. As they should. Regardless of skin color. And you will have brough that entirely on yourself so no need to whine and cry foul.
Let’s stay on the topic of digital IDs and driver’s licenses.
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One reason for this in California (where I live) might be that the routine procedure for any traffic stop by law enforcement is for the officer to request your “license and registration,” and then take both of these documents back to his or her car to check for outstanding arrest warrants (I presume that’s what they’re checking). I imagine the state doesn’t want their officers to be in even temporary possession of someone’s phone, deal with it locking itself before they can check it, etc.
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That’s exactly the point. Same reason they tell you to have your vehicle registration and proof of insurance printed on paper rather than some grainy cell phone image.
Now sure, all LE could be issued readers so that they can take the reader back to their cruisers instead of your plastic DL. The question is then if billions of tax payer $ shall be spent on issuing every cop a reader just so a select few special people with special needs can forgo taking a 1/3-oz piece of plastic with them when they drive their 2-ton MV on a public roadway.
Apple says people don’t need to show their device. To me that implies no QR code, but rather NFC or Bluetooth (TSA actually says BT has to be on). That would also match what I see at TSA checkpoints where people appear to just tap their iPhones against an NFC reader.
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When I’m not driving (say, going for a walk in the park, grabbing takeout food or groceries) I just carry my phone and house key. No need for a wallet, more room in the pockets.
If and when this gets rolled out, you won’t unlock or hand your phone to anyone; you’ll tap it against their device like you do when paying with Apple Pay. That will exchange some sort of token that the officer will be able to use to pull up your full ID from the issuing authority on their device.
They have phones with NFC readers already, just like everyone else. All that needs to be rolled out is an official app that can validate against the DMV database.
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I wouldn’t be comfortable with officers having access to everything on my unlocked phone as they sit in their car. I don’t have anything to hide, but it really doesn’t seem like a good idea.
This would be much more acceptable if they could instantly read the info from my iPhone as I hold it out the window for them.
California currently has its own digital license app (which is not useful except for age verification at a few liquor stores and TSA at a few airports). The app is supposed to work by unlocking it and presenting a QR code to be read by an appropriate reader. The code is not static, so the reader must use logic to confirm that it comes from a live presentation, not a screenshot.
Interestingly, you can also put the app in reader mode to read the code. It shows modes for age verification, complete identity, and driving privileges.
The age verification checks give a ‘Yes’ or’ No’ response. Interestingly, I don’t see any restrictions on using the more restricted modes for folks who only need age verification (liquor stores, senior discount providers, etc.).
I tried to use that mode to read a screenshot of the QR code but got stuck in a processing loop.
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I recently added mine in Ohio. Here’s a few screenshots:
This is what you see when you tap on the license itself in Wallet. It’s literally just the card’s background, your first name, and last initial. (I cropped out the remainder of the screen, which is just white space.)
This is what comes up when you tap the info icon. No personal information visible here at all.
Now, the interesting part is when you tap Driver’s License Info. It will not let you actually screenshot this information. This is what the screenshot looks like:
There’s actually full information there on the screen, but it’s automatically blanked in the screenshot. So, I took a picture of the iPhone screen with my iPad. With the full length of the info accounted for, and key info redacted, this is what it looks like:
This is pretty much all the information that’s on the front of my printed license. In Ohio, Class D is a standard vehicle license, and Restriction B is corrective lenses. (Excuse the screen reflections; they weren’t worth editing out.)
There is no scannable bar code anywhere in the information (unlike the printed card, which has a code on the back). It’s obviously meant to be used only with NFC.
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As a LPR - Legal Permanent Resident / Green Card Holder, I am required to always carry my card.
Welcome to the Land of the Free!
f
PS Papieren bitte!
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Thanks! @Quantumpanda’s screenshots confirm this for Ohio, at least. But I was intrigued by this image on the TSA page you linked, which suggests that a QR code could also be used (lower-right quadrant). I’ll bet some state digital ID setups offer a QR code because they can’t guarantee the NFC hardware and Bluetooth isn’t always reliable.
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I assume this is the case everywhere. And in some states (like NJ), you also need to produce proof of auto insurance. So that’s another piece of paper to always carry on your person.