Google will be beta testing a new feature for Google Wallet that will allow users to convert their US passport into a new form of digital ID. Google announced the new feature on its official blog.
Now, digital IDs created from your passport or state-issued ID can be used as valid identification at certain Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at select U.S. airports. No more frantically digging through your pockets for your wallet and playing “Beat the Clock” as you slowly approach a TSA agent in line.
The new digital ID feature isn’t available at all airports. As of Thursday, 21 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had at least one airport that accepted digital IDs. You can check the digital map on the TSA’s website to see if the state you’re flying into or out of accepts digital IDs at security checkpoints.
Adoption of digital IDs is growing nationwide among both Android and iPhone users, though they’re not available in every state. Major airports in Arizona, Colorado and Georgia have begun accepting state IDs from Google Wallet users, and last month, California began accepting Apple Wallet and Google Wallet IDs at some airports.
