What you need to know
- A new report says that Apple will use selfies to let people verify their identity for ID cards in iOS 15.
- Apple announced that later this year customers will be able to add driver's licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet.
- The move should ensure only the owner of a card can use it on their iPhone.
New code within iOS 15 indicates that an upcoming ID card feature for Apple Wallet will use selfies to verify the ID of users.
9to5Mac reports that code within the new iOS 15 beta shows Apple will use "a new security verification system with selfies to ensure that only the owner of an ID card can add it to the iPhone."
According to the code, users will be able to take a selfie to verify their identity when they add an ID card to Wallet, much like banking apps such as Monzo, which operates a similar system.
9to5 says the process will be "very similar" to setting up Face ID, with users required to move their head around to allow a fuller scan of their face, as opposed to simply taking a picture:
The onboarding process will look very similar to the Face ID setup, in which the user needs to rotate their head to register their face. The difference is that the animations will guide the user to capture their face in different positions, such as looking sideways, raising the eyebrows, opening the mouth, and even smiling.
To maintain privacy this will be processed on-device, according to the report. Apple confirmed that ID cards and driver's licenses would be coming to Apple Wallet back at WWDC. From Apple:
Later this year, customers in participating states in the US will be able to add their driver's license or state IDs to Wallet. The Transportation Security Administration is working to enable airport security checkpoints as the first place customers can use their digital Identity Card in Wallet. Identity Cards in Wallet are encrypted and safely stored in the Secure Element, the same hardware technology that makes Apple Pay private and secure.
It will mean users on devices like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 will be able to carry their ID and driver's license with them without actually having to carry a physical copy, adding to Apple Wallet's current capabilities which includes storing things such as airline boarding passes. Using Ultra Wideband technology Apple is also adding new features for unlocking homes, offices, and even hotel rooms.
