iOS 26 Brings Digital IDs to Apple Wallet: Will This Push Adoption?

Imagine boarding a flight, proving your age, or checking into a hotel without ever pulling out your physical wallet. Instead, you simply tap your phone. That’s the experience Apple is aiming to deliver with the introduction of digital IDs in its Wallet app.

Digital IDs have been discussed for years as a way to speed up verification, strengthen security, and improve privacy. Yet adoption has been slow. Concerns over privacy, inconsistent standards, and hesitation to embrace new technology have held it back.

Apple’s latest update could shift that. By integrating digital ID features into one of the most widely used apps in the world, the company has the influence to make this technology part of everyday life. But with that influence come important questions about control, interoperability, and privacy. How Apple addresses them may determine whether digital IDs finally gain mainstream adoption or remain limited to pilot programs.

Apple Wallet’s New Digital ID Features in iOS 26

At its June 2025 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a set of new Wallet features arriving with iOS 26. The update will first be available in the United States, allowing users to store and use government-issued IDs directly on their iPhones. Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, emphasized the goal to “replace the physical wallet with a more secure and private digital wallet.”

The update includes three main components:

1. Digital Passport in Wallet 

• Biometric Verification: U.S. residents can scan their physical passport and take a selfie, which is matched through Face ID or Touch ID for identity confirmation. This process ensures the digital passport accurately reflects the holder’s identity, reducing the risk of fraud.
• Tamper-Resistant Credentials: Verified passport information is converted into a digitally signed credential, protected by encryption and cryptographic safeguards, so it cannot be altered and is trusted by users and authorities alike.
• TSA Integration: Travelers can use their digital passport at TSA checkpoints, presenting their credential from their phone to speed up security checks and improve convenience.

2.  “Verify with Wallet” for Web and App Logins

• Selective Disclosure: Users can authenticate themselves on websites and apps using the digital ID stored in Wallet, sharing only essential details—such as name, age, or address—without uploading photos or documents to external servers.
• Privacy Protections: Apple’s digital ID features are built with security and privacy in mind. Personal data is stored on the device, and any transmitted information is encrypted, with major processing handled in a private cloud. They also invite external security experts to audit its systems to ensure safeguards remain strong. Apple says that ID data is removed from its servers soon after processing, and all Face ID or Touch ID authentication happens entirely on the device without being shared. These measures are intended to give both users and developers confidence that sensitive identity information remains private and under user control.

3. Standards-Based Architecture: W3C Verifiable Credentials & FIDO

• Open Standards: Apple’s digital ID features are built on open standards, including the W3C’s Digital Credentials API and FIDO Alliance protocols. These standards enable secure, privacy-respecting exchanges of digital credentials across platforms and devices, ensuring users maintain control over their data.
• Passwordless Authentication: Using the FIDO Client to Authenticator Protocol (CTAP), Apple supports password-free logins with Face ID or Touch ID. This approach aligns with the broader push toward interoperable digital IDs, enabling secure authentication across different platforms and browsers.

Why iOS 26 Could Accelerate Digital ID Adoption

With iOS 26, Apple is transforming Wallet from a simple payment tool into a secure, standards-based platform for verifying identity both online and in person. This change could help digital IDs move from limited, niche use to everyday tools for millions. The following key factors highlight why Apple’s approach is likely to accelerate adoption:

1. Large User Base

Apple has more than 1.5 billion active devices worldwide. This allows the company to introduce digital ID features to millions of people instantly through a standard iOS update, without requiring them to download a new app or learn a new process. The size of Apple’s ecosystem removes a common adoption hurdle: the need for users to actively seek out and install new technology.

2. Trusted Security Features

Apple’s security features like Face ID, Touch ID, and Secure Enclave have been refined over years and are well known to users. This familiarity builds trust, making people more comfortable relying on digital IDs stored in Wallet for sensitive tasks.

3. Standards-Based Approach

By aligning with recognized global standards, Apple increases the likelihood that its digital ID framework can be integrated by governments, businesses, and developers over time. While each jurisdiction has its own rules and systems, Apple’s use of interoperable protocols helps lower technical barriers and encourages broader adoption across different regions and industries.

4. Rising User Expectations

As more TSA checkpoints, websites, and mobile apps begin to accept digital IDs, users will come to expect fast, mobile-first, and privacy-conscious verification. A 2022 survey found that more than half of consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, and Mexico already use digital IDs for services, and 68 percent consider them important for financial transactions. Apple’s rollout could accelerate this momentum by making digital IDs part of the everyday smartphone experience.

Use Cases for Digital IDs After the iOS 26 Update

Apple’s introduction of digital ID features in iOS 26 is more than a technical update. It marks a step toward making digital identity practical in everyday life. From government services and travel to private businesses and financial platforms, these tools are already finding meaningful applications. Here’s how Apple plans to use its digital ID features and what that could mean for the future:

1. Government and Travel

• TSA Pilot Programs: With iOS 26, users will be able to store U.S. passports in Apple Wallet and present them at select TSA checkpoints for domestic flights. This builds on existing pilots for mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs, which began in 2021 following a presidential executive order. The TSA has already approved mobile passport usage for domestic flights at major airports, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO), aligning with the iOS 26 rollout.
• Potential for international travel: While Wallet-based passports won’t replace a physical passport at international borders, Apple’s integration could eventually work alongside ePassports to streamline border crossings. This would speed up travel while maintaining strong identity checks, making international journeys smoother and more secure.
• Additional Travel-Friendly Features: Beyond Digital IDs, iOS 26 adds travel-friendly features that make Apple Wallet an even more essential companion for trips, including Live Activities for real-time flight updates, airport interior maps built into boarding passes, and luggage tracking through Find My technology as an alternative to AirTags.

2. Private Sector

• Business Adoption: Companies such as Turo, Chime, and U.S. Bank are adopting selective verification methods using digital IDs. For example, Uber Eats Australia accepts state-issued digital driver’s licenses to verify age for alcohol deliveries in New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland. This trend shows digital ID adoption is growing beyond Apple Wallet’s core features, with multiple businesses adopting similar solutions.
• Fintech Onboarding and Restricted Services: Digital IDs help fintech companies streamline account creation while meeting compliance requirements. They allow platforms to instantly confirm necessary customer details in a secure and privacy-focused way, reducing manual checks, preventing fraud, and accelerating onboarding.

3. States Partnerships

• Participating States: Apple has partnered with four U.S. states to roll out digital driver’s licenses and state IDs in Wallet: Arizona (March 2022), Maryland (May 2022), Colorado (November 2022), and Georgia (May 2023). California has also joined a pilot program, allowing up to 1.5 million residents to participate.
• Fragmentation in U.S. Adoption: Despite progress, digital ID adoption in the U.S. remains inconsistent. Each state sets its own rules and timelines for implementation, resulting in a patchwork of standards. This fragmentation can make it harder for businesses and users to rely on a unified digital identity experience nationwide.

Privacy and Security Risks in Apple’s iOS 26 Digital ID Rollout

While Apple’s Wallet update brings clear benefits, it also raises important concerns that could impact competition, user control, and long-term trust. Here are some key issues to consider:

1. A walled ecosystem limits competition and interoperability

The term “walled garden” describes a system where one company tightly controls what happens inside its ecosystem. In Apple’s case, the company chooses which digital IDs users can add to Wallet. It also determines which apps can access those IDs and controls how the information is shared. While this control helps keep the system secure, it also limits how easily other companies and platforms can work with Apple’s digital ID. For example, users on Android or other platforms might not be able to use or verify Apple Wallet IDs smoothly. Apple has allowed some exceptions, like Apple Pay working beyond its ecosystem, but it remains unclear if digital IDs will achieve the same level of openness.

2. Dependence on a single vendor creators uncertainty

When Apple alone controls the issuance, storage, and sharing of digital IDs, several questions arise. What happens if Apple changes its policies? What if legal demands force Apple to share user data? And what about users who switch to non-Apple devices? Relying on one company for such a critical infrastructure raises concerns about resilience, neutrality, and governance, all of which could affect user trust over time.

3. Limited portability and lack of decentralization

Even though Apple uses widely accepted standards like W3C and FIDO, its system remains centralized. Users cannot easily transfer their digital ID credentials across different wallets, devices, or platforms. This lack of portability limits progress toward decentralized identity models which aim to give users full control over their data regardless of where they choose to use it.

4. Limited availability restricts adoption

Limited availability continues to restrict adoption. Apple’s digital ID features in Wallet are accessible in only a small number of U.S. states, and even there, usage is mostly confined to TSA checkpoints or select apps. Developers also face barriers, as Apple grants access only to approved apps that meet strict requirements, typically in highly regulated sectors such as finance.

How Developers Can Integrate iOS 26 Digital ID Features

While Apple’s Wallet update is designed for end-user convenience, the iOS 26 Digital ID features also open up significant opportunities for developers. At WWDC 2025, Apple outlined two main integration paths: the Document Provider API for native apps and the W3C Digital Credentials API for the web. Developers can use these to create custom verification flows, request only the data they need, and ensure that sensitive information never leaves the user’s device unencrypted.

Testing can be done immediately using sandboxed credentials, but production deployment requires a special entitlement from Apple. This step ensures only approved apps—often in regulated sectors—can access live credentials. For developers, this means planning entitlement requests early, building around Apple’s UX requirements, and ensuring regulatory compliance from the start.

Another important element is the mDoc verification workflow. When a verification request is initiated, iOS presents the user with a choice of registered document provider apps. The chosen app validates the request, encrypts the data, and returns it securely. For developers, this means designing extensions or apps that can handle secure encryption, proper validation, and a clean user approval interface without introducing unnecessary friction.

With these APIs, developers can enable features such as instant onboarding for financial services, age-gating for restricted content, or secure access control for membership programs. The key advantage is the ability to integrate identity verification directly into app or web flows without relying on third-party verification providers—reducing complexity, costs, and potential privacy risks.

What Should Platforms Do Now to Stay Ahead of the Competition?

Apple is setting a new standard for easy-to-use digital identity. To keep up, platforms need to move quickly. Adopting open standards like W3C Verifiable Credentials and FIDO2 is important because these are becoming the common foundation for digital ID systems that will last. Starting early will help ensure platforms work smoothly with Apple’s system and other tools that may come later.

At the same time, platforms should stay flexible. Building identity systems that only work with Apple could limit growth over time. Developers should create solutions that also work on Android phones, desktop computers, and web browsers. The most important part is building trust with users.

Platforms should clearly explain how they handle data, give users control over their information, and make it easy for them to check how their data is used. When a system locks users into one device, company, or platform, they often become less willing to adopt it. Platforms that focus on working across different devices, protecting privacy, and giving users choices will stand out as digital ID becomes more common.

Conclusion

Apple’s move into digital IDs with its Wallet app could be a turning point for how we manage our identities. By making verification easier and more secure, it opens up the possibility for digital IDs to be widely adopted across industries. But as digital identities become a bigger part of our daily lives, concerns about privacy and control—especially with tech giants like Apple—will only grow. If Apple and the industry as a whole can focus on being transparent and put users at the center of these systems, digital IDs have the potential to really change the way we interact with the world. The key will be ensuring that these systems give users the power to control their data, keep their information private, and offer flexibility in how it’s used.

Identity.com

Identity.com helps many businesses by providing their customers with a hassle-free identity verification process through our products. Our organization envisions a user-centric internet where individuals maintain control over their data. This commitment drives Identity.com to actively contribute to this future through innovative identity management systems and protocols.

As members of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), we uphold the standards for the World Wide Web and work towards a more secure and user-friendly online experience. Identity.com is an open-source ecosystem providing access to secure on-chain identity verification. Our solutions enhance the user experience and reduce onboarding friction by providing reusable and interoperable Gateway Passes. Please get in touch for more information about how we can help you with identity verification and general KYC processes using decentralized solutions.