Among their newest efforts to make air travel a little easier, TSA will now accept mobile IDs in Google Wallet on Android, starting with passengers from Maryland who have TSA Pre.
That’s a lot of conditions, but it’s a first step in the right direction towards making the process of going through security more efficient by accepting new forms of mobile identification. Travelers with a Maryland-issued mobile driver’s license or ID card saved in Google wallet can now use this digital feature at checkpoints for identity verification at 25 participating airports.
So how does it work? Once your mobile ID is saved in Google Wallet on your Android device, just turn on Bluetooth and hold your phone or watch up to the Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2) reader device. The info from your mobile driver's license is encrypted and transmitted digitally to CAT-2, where your real-time camera photograph will be compared against the encrypted mobile identity information from Google Wallet and the data from your boarding pass. Once the CAT-2 confirms a match, the TSA officer will verify the match and you can head to the security screening, without pulling out your physical ID or your boarding pass. TSA officers may perform additional verification if needed. The real-time live camera photograph and the mobile ID info stored, transmitted or used for any other purpose, but you can opt out and choose the old-school verification method instead.
State-issued mobile IDs from several states are already accepted at several airports, and the new technology will eventually include other states. TSA’s adoption of mobile ID technology is driven by security and privacy, and will hopefully take a little bit of the hassle out of going through security.