Online passports have taken a step forward with the broad rollout of a Google Wallet application. Travelers now can upload a passport and just show their phones as ID at TSA checkpoints across the United States.
Even Google cautions that the technology, which went into beta in September and rolled out on Friday, is still “in its early stages.” And there are a few caveats: Online passports are acceptable as ID at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel only, and do not replace paper passport books for international travel. For now, even Google advises carrying a paper passport book as backup just in case. And the Google wallet is available only on Android phones, not iPhones.
Still, though, it’s a step toward a digital future that finally will let us stop asking that last question as we get into our Ubers to the airport: “Does everyone have their passport?”
To try the new system, open the Google Wallet app on your Android phone and select the prompt that reads “create an ID pass with your US passport.” Then just scan the security chip in your passport and take a selfie video to verify your identity. In a few minutes, you’ll get a notice that your ID pass is ready.
Digital IDs increasingly are being used on the state level; more than half of all states (27 states and Puerto Rico, with New Mexico joining the list this month), and airports including JFK International Airport in New York, Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International, currently accept digital IDs in Google Wallet and/or Apple Wallet. And in September, the State Department rolled out online passport application processing.