TSA approves new ID for iPhone users at airport security but it comes with a catch
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has approved a new type of ID that you can use for travel, but there’s something you need to know first.
Ah, it’s almost summer, and you know what that means.
It’s time for some sun, fruity drinks on the beach, traveling to destination spots and living it up for a couple of weeks until we’re all hit with snow come winter.
But something is changing when it comes to your travel ID.
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It’s going digital.
After Apple revealed that it’ll let iPhone users upload their passport to their Apple Wallet this fall, TSA will now accept it as a REAL ID type at checkpoints.
You’ll be able to show it via your phone instead of bringing the paper copy with you, which is a great new perk for many who either lose their passports often or are sick of having to constantly check that it’s still in their bag.
However, don’t be hasty and try to ditch your hard copy altogether.
Even though you can use your digital passport for your travels across the US, you’ll still need the original.
As per USA Today, an Apple spokesperson shared: “While not a replacement for your physical passport, digital ID can be used for domestic travel and at supported TSA checkpoints.”
This means that it won’t be accepted as an ID when you plan to travel internationally.
This new introduction comes after the REAL ID enforcement came in May.
It meant that travelers had to figure out what counts as an acceptable ID or not, and sadly disqualified Costco cards as something you could use at checkpoints.
“We love hotdogs & rotisserie chickens as much as the next person but please stop telling people their Costco card counts as a Real ID because it absolutely does not,” the TSA reminded travelers on Facebook after people became confused as to whether their loyalty cards could allow them to travel between states.
Obviously, it wasn’t well received by some who had allegedly tried to use the card before, but others took it in good faith and even cracked a couple of jokes at the expense of Costco.
Such as the case of this commenter who jokingly wrote: "So, you're saying we should bring you a chicken?"
Now, Apple hopes that this can lessen the stress of domestic travel by reducing it to a 'tap-and-go' scenario.
According to SF Gate, Apple’s new Digital ID ‘offers a secure and private new way for users to store and present their ID information using their iPhone and Apple Watch’.
The company shared that users will be able to ‘seamlessly create and add a Digital ID to Apple Wallet using a U.S. passport’.
But before you decide to throw away your passport in light of the digital copy, the TSA says that the Digital ID ‘provide identity verification for domestic travel only, and it is not a replacement for your physical passport’.
It added: “It is important to have the physical U.S. Passport available in case it is needed, and a physical U.S. Passport is still required for international travel.”
UNILAD has contacted Apple for further comment.
Britt Jones