Since 2022, Apple has gradually rolled out its mobile driver’s license feature to a few states. Now Samsung is joining in with virtual IDs on their Android phones too. Samsung announced they will bring mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs to the Samsung Wallet app.
This means users can save a digital copy of their license or state ID card in the Wallet app. Samsung worked with IDEMIA to make sure the mobile IDs are secure, accurate and private. Residents in Iowa and Arizona will be the first to access this feature later in 2022. Samsung is also talking to other states to expand it to more people.
In addition, Samsung is working with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to test accepting mobile IDs at airports. They will test it out at 25 federal airports across the country. For app developers, Samsung created an SDK toolkit to easily verify a user’s identity is who they say they are. Developers can add a “verified ID” button to prove someone in their app is real.
What you can exactly do with the mobile ID depends on your state. For example, when Apple launched it in Georgia you could only use it for airport security checks. Samsung hopes to make virtual IDs as widely accepted as physical ones. This new feature means Android users can also conveniently access their IDs from their phones just like iPhone owners.
