CHICAGO – In a significant technological advancement for Illinois residents, iPhone users can now present their state ID digitally, starting this Wednesday, at various locations, including airport security checkpoints.

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias hailed this development as a transformative step for individuals needing to display identification at places like airports for TSA security checks.

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As of Wednesday morning, Illinois will appear as an option in the “driver’s license and ID cards” section within the Apple Wallet app.

This update allows Apple users to store their Illinois driver’s license or state ID directly on their iPhone or Apple Watch.

According to state officials, Android users can expect to access this mobile ID feature in the near future.

The new system enables individuals to provide identification simply by tapping their phone, akin to the common “tap to pay” feature available for transactions.

“For anyone who has left the house without (a) wallet, today changes everything,” Giannoulias said. “The Illinois driver’s license and wallet take advantage of privacy and security features already built into Apple Watch to help protect against tampering and theft.”
But you can’t totally ditch your physical ID.

Not all businesses or law enforcement agencies are required to accept the mobile version, so you still need to carry around your physical IDs.

While officials say the technology keeps personal data safe and secure, some cybersecurity experts say security challenges remain around the database, if information is stolen.

“The real challenge is how the database is going to be protected because there is a lot of information going there,” Maurice Dawson, IIT cybersecurity expert, said. “You have, for those who need to prove that they are a U.S. citizen, to get the star on their ID, they have to provide certain documents. All of that information is stored and it’s going to be used on that particular database,”

Illinois joins 12 other states and Puerto Rico to offer a mobile ID.

How to use Mobile ID

To present an ID in person, users can go to Apple Wallet and select their Illinois driver’s license and state ID.

It would work similar as the “Tap to Pay” feature.

Users will the hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near an identity reader, review the specific information being requested, and use Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate.

Users may need to update their phone or restart it before seeing Illinois on the dropdown menu.