In a December system update, Google announced a new feature for Google Wallet; users can now upload their driver’s license, enabling the digitization of ID.
Apple Wallet has had the feature since September 2021.
Google said that the feature will “allow users from selected US state(s) to digitize their state ID/driver’s license into the Google Wallet for convenient, private and secure presentation.” The feature has been added as a beta feature, and could be fully rolled out if successful.
The technology is limited to states with departments of motor vehicles that allow mobile IDs. Georgia and Arizona were the first states to allow residents to upload their state IDs and driver’s license to Apple Wallet. Other states that allow the technology are Maryland, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Iowa, and Utah.
Apple also collaborated with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to allow people flying domestically to present digital versions of their ID cards. Airports have a special reader so that people who chose to present their digital ID do not have to hand over their phone to security or law enforcement.
Apple claims that the system is designed in such a way that neither the state nor the company know when a user’s detail ID has been scanned. Google has not mentioned any security features built into its system.
