New York Launches Mobile Driver's Licenses (theverge.com) 65
New York has launched its mobile ID program, "giving residents the option to digitize their driver's license or non-driver ID," reports The Verge. From the report: Beginning today, the New York Mobile ID app is available from Apple's App Store and Google Play. The app can be used for identity verification at airports. A physical license, permit, or non-driver ID is required to activate a mobile ID; you'll need to take a photo of the front and back with your phone during the enrollment process. The news was announced during a media briefing at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday that included New York's and Transportation Security Administration federal security director Robert Duffy, among other speakers. Their pitch is that mobile IDs "will revolutionize the way New Yorkers protect their identities and will significantly enhance the way they get through security at airports across the nation." State officials are also emphasizing that it's a voluntary option meant for convenience.
"When you offer your mobile ID to TSA or anyone else who accepts it, you are in full control of sharing that information. They can only see the information they request to see," Schroeder said. "If you only need to prove your age, you can withhold other information that a verifier doesn't need to see." The app is designed so that your phone remains in your possession at all times -- you should never freely hand a device over to law enforcement -- and shows a QR code that can be scanned to verify your identity. Any changes to your license status such as renewals or suspensions are automatically pushed to the mobile version, and the digital ID also mirrors data like whether you're an organ donor.
For now, acceptance of mobile IDs by businesses (and the police) is completely voluntary -- and there's no deadline in place for compliance -- so it's definitely too soon to start leaving your physical one at home. But bars and other small businesses can start accepting them immediately if they install the state's verifier app. The New York Mobile ID app can be used "at nearly 30 participating airports across the country including all terminals at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports," according to a press release from Governor Kathy Hochul. New York joins a small list of states that have rolled out mobile driver's licenses, including Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, and Utah.
"When you offer your mobile ID to TSA or anyone else who accepts it, you are in full control of sharing that information. They can only see the information they request to see," Schroeder said. "If you only need to prove your age, you can withhold other information that a verifier doesn't need to see." The app is designed so that your phone remains in your possession at all times -- you should never freely hand a device over to law enforcement -- and shows a QR code that can be scanned to verify your identity. Any changes to your license status such as renewals or suspensions are automatically pushed to the mobile version, and the digital ID also mirrors data like whether you're an organ donor.
For now, acceptance of mobile IDs by businesses (and the police) is completely voluntary -- and there's no deadline in place for compliance -- so it's definitely too soon to start leaving your physical one at home. But bars and other small businesses can start accepting them immediately if they install the state's verifier app. The New York Mobile ID app can be used "at nearly 30 participating airports across the country including all terminals at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports," according to a press release from Governor Kathy Hochul. New York joins a small list of states that have rolled out mobile driver's licenses, including Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, and Utah.
Re: (Score:2)
Not really. It becomes an offence to drive without the ultimate tracking device, your phone.
Re: (Score:1)
My definition of option is different from yours. But next you’re going to tell me it will be mandatory one day. You just dream of persecution.
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot bitching about how they’ve had a physical license for a century blah blah
Straw man. It's actually a step in the right direction to only share required information. A bar may need to verify I'm over 21 to serve me alcohol, but how could they justify asking for my name, weight, or address (address might be nice in the case of calling a cab at the end of the night)? The reason I don't yet have a mobile ID is the additional cost. My state charges a subscription beyond the physical license3.
Comment Subject: (Score:1)
pro: the bar doesn't get to know how tall you are
con: your ID just left a footprint as being scanned at bar X (gay bar?) on 2024-06-11 23:04 in a data point that will live forever, in data sets that may or may not (jk, it's the second) actually stay within a single office forever (this is before even considering breaches/leaks)
invisible dominoes are incomprehensible to most, "If I didn't see it, it never happened."
there will be use cases for this but i'll let the septembers beta it
Re: (Score:3)
many bars already use a scanning gun for id verification. same thing except at least you (supposedly) have more control here. at the very least, you don't have less...
and let me make a general observation. y'know, i'm not referring to you, but... in general a lot of the people who "care" about "privacy" have just been duped into it by a scary article but haven't actually thought about it. i bet many people with concerns like this (not you, i'm talking statistically) already pay with plastic (or even an e-pl
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
yeah, giving people hoops to jump through makes them think they're "doing it right" and calms them down.
then you datamine the fuck out of them anyway.
Re: (Score:2)
You might also be surprised at the breadth and depth of cellphone metadata that's available in certain markets. Hell I used to get spam trying selling this shit by the terabyte...
I suppose some of it might be "anonymized" but it's not hard at all to splice most of that back together when you have sms records and geolocation data from multiple overlapping towers. Then add wifi to that (yes, commercial routers log and share their access requests), not to mention outright video surveillance.
But sure, yes, the
Cue Zoomers demanding the death..... (Score:3, Interesting)
How long until having unreliable phone service means you get hauled off to booking for driving "without" a valid license?
How long until Zoomers demand the death of physical ID cards because they consider them "old" and "obsolete"?
Re:Cue Zoomers demanding the death..... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: Oh really? (Score:3)
https://mycolorado.gov/colorad... [mycolorado.gov]
Can law enforcement accept my Digital ID if there is no cellular network, Wi-Fi or internet available?
Once a Colorado Digital ID has been created within the myColorado app and the setup process completed, the holder can display it even if there is no cellular or Wi-Fi service available. Law enforcement that leverages eCitation technology can accept Colorado Digital ID without a network; however, the data sharing process via a QR code requires internet service. In this case,
Re: (Score:3)
Re:Cue Zoomers demanding the death..... (Score:4, Informative)
Windows != Linux. I thought I would use this analogy here on Slashdot to point out not everything digital is equal. Unless New York is copying Colarado's digital ID system there's no reason why the experience should be just as bad as yours.
Digital IDs based on QR codes were well proven in the days of COVID. Implementation, not technology, is what is key to any success. Not digital vs analogue. I'm sorry to hear you had issues, but there's no reason for a digital ID to have a requirement to "load an ID image" or to even need service to do so if it is implemented correctly. There's no reason for an ID to require a handshake with a remote server, and no reason for it to glitch out either (which is hilarious in the COVID times since the EU digital COVID pass in Germany was given to you by ... printing the digital pass on a sheet of paper).
Implementation matters.
Re: (Score:2)
I live in Colorado and we've had a digital ID app since 2021, IIRC. I've had it since almost day one. It's unreliable as hell. My ID got damaged and it was my only option while I waited nearly two months to get the replacement. It fucked me like a housecat several times when it wouldn't load the ID image (even though I had good service etc..). Just glitched out and left me looking stupid at the counter trying to show it. It's fiddly and very inconvenient and I hate it. The only saving grace is that when it was fucking up, half the other folks in line experienced the same thing. Bad news at a venue/show or when people are trying to get into a bar, do a bank transaction, or enter a dispensary.
How often do you need to get your ID out?
UK/Australian here, I use mine a few times a year. Hell, they've even stopped asking me at the store when I buy beer. Depressing as hell as it means I've well and truly lost my boyish good looks. Last time I had to show anyone my UK driving license was when renting a car in Spain a few months ago. My passport saw more people that trip.
If you need to show ID to get into a pharmacy, maybe you need to look at your society. I buy small amounts of codeine (less than
Re: Cue Zoomers demanding the death..... (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
How long until having unreliable phone service means you get hauled off to booking for driving "without" a valid license?
I'm pretty sure the data is stored on the phone, hence taking the photos of the ID.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
So how long until it's mandatory to pay some cell service provider to be able to have a "valid" / "legitimate" ID?
How long until having unreliable phone service means you get hauled off to booking for driving "without" a valid license?
How long until Zoomers demand the death of physical ID cards because they consider them "old" and "obsolete"?
You sure do fantasize about being persecuted.
Say it with me slowly
No one is coming for your physical drivers license
Re: (Score:1)
No one is coming for your physical drivers license
Maybe not now. Maybe not ever. But one thing is as certain as death and taxes: organizations and individuals will make it less and less convenient to use a physical drivers license, and will prioritize those who go digital. Don't want to go digital, Citizen? No problem, just get on this separate line, where we will make you wait longer, treat you with disdain, and maybe even offer you a lower tier of service.
Re: (Score:2)
If you like your physical driver's license, you can keep your physical driver's license, amirite?
Re: (Score:1)
Just like no one is coming for cash payers?
Surely you aren't hinging on the pedantic "one" in there. No one thinks the above/your line is being perpetrated by a single supergenius individual bogeyman with a curly villain mustache.
Such a bogeyman would be a strawman for you to knock down. Heh.
Re: (Score:2)
Zoomers aren't going to demand the death of anything. They don't even demand food and shelter for fuck sakes. Seriously when my kid graduated college I could not get them to believe that they deserved a decent amount of pay despite the fact of the last year of their college education was spent doing on the job training for their STEM degree...
And the only people who are not going to have a physical driver's license are well to do people in really nice cars with really expensive phones because everyone else knows that if you don't immediately have your driver's license and vehicle registration right there for the police officer there's a good chance he's going to haul you in and if you're black there's a good chance he's going to shoot you.
Maybe you didn't notice all those protests a few years ago but the kids know what's what when it comes to the police. Nobody under 30 is going to risk this shit unless they're extremely rich and it's very obvious that they're extremely rich.
LOL. FFS. None of that is even remotely rooted in the real world.
"Deserve's got nothin' to do with it."
-William Munny out of Missoura
Re: (Score:1)
You're asking a lot of questions that rely heavily on assumptions and ignorance.
a) Why is mandatory payment to a cell provider not already a fixed assumption in the world. It's 2024. You are socially crippled without a mobile service, unable to do simple things such as internet banking to say nothing of actually functioning professionally and socially.
b) Why do you assume any connectivity is required to generate the QR code in question? Europe has just shown that it's not. We didn't require internet access
Re: (Score:2)
Google Wallet has had something like this for UK COVID health records for a few years now. When travelling you might need to prove you are vaccinated, for example. It works completely offline.
Actually all the Google Wallet stuff does. Store cards and credit card payments.
In principle there is no reason why this driver's licence would need an internet connection, so if it does you should be suspicious.
Re: (Score:3)
You need a Norwegian bank account to exist as an adult person.
There are no paper/card IDs. All you get is a single number (that is used instead of ID-number, social security number etc.).
Hauled off to booking doesn't happen because the cops get all your data from your license plate.
Re: (Score:3)
So how long until it's mandatory to pay some cell service provider to be able to have a "valid" / "legitimate" ID?
How long until having unreliable phone service means you get hauled off to booking for driving "without" a valid license?
How long until Zoomers demand the death of physical ID cards because they consider them "old" and "obsolete"?
About 5 minutes after the paperless office and other death predictions come true. Which is to say shortly after the 22nd of June, Twenty Twenty-never.
Loads of things hang around simply because they're simple and useful. It's nice to have options, I'm not one of those "I don't even have a wallet" hipsters (yeah, I'm fine with my plastic photocard license and yes, a coin pocket is a requirement on a new wallet for me) but I bear no ill will towards those who don't want to carry one.
So calm down and stop
The consultants who wrote this plan... (Score:4, Insightful)
Every aspect of this plan, from it's inception to the contracts it's creating, are evidence of public corruption.' This system bad.
Our cell phones cannot be secured. Every manufacturer is failing to keep up with no-click exploits and here's the government telling us to put even more personal information on these devices.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom... [apple.com]
3 years ago Apple came forward and told the courts they were unable to secure their phones because of groups like NSO. Well that tech is way more prevalent than it was back then.
Phones using MacOS or Android cannot be secured. My ID in my wallet is completely secure. This is a gross idea.
Re: (Score:2)
If a bar or establishment stores ID info and pictures in a database, and that database gets hacked, .. it is easy for someone to find an ID with a picture that resembles themselves and create a image that looks like a valid ID. That won't be useful against police who presumably would look for some kind of digital signature with a timestamp but it could be used in non-police situations where IDs aren't checked or when there's limited communication.
It's much harder to fake a driver license due to the security
Re: The consultants who wrote this plan... (Score:3)
If you think it's hard to fake a driver's license (Score:1)
The problem with something like this is that unless you're rich enough that you're not afraid of cops (and that's very very rich) then this would be something that's both stupid and dangerous because you don't want to piss the guy with the gun off when he pulls you over especially when we are constantly telling those guys with guns that they're a dangerous criminals out to
Re: (Score:2)
Our cell phones cannot be secured. Every manufacturer is failing to keep up with no-click exploits and here's the government telling us to put even more personal information on these devices.
And yet banks seem to trust them more than their own bank cards, when it comes to making contactless payments.
In the UK you get your money back if there are fraudulent transactions because your phone was hacked through no fault of your own, so they aren't just ignoring the cost and letting the customer pay it.
The reality is that Android and even iOS phones are quite secure. The biometrics alone are more than most thieves can get past. Malware somehow doesn't create hundred million device botnets of phones e
Re: (Score:2)
The consultants who wrote this plan are fully aware that it will lead to a massive increase in identity theft. There's no question of if this plan will hurt hard-working New Yorkers, it's just a question of when and how much worse.
Gee, I wonder who might have wanted unreliable and easily gamed IDs ...
Yet another way to put your identity at risk. (Score:2)
Their pitch is that mobile IDs "will revolutionize the way New Yorkers protect their identities and will significantly enhance the way they get through security at airports across the nation."
Two things immediately caught my attention.
1 - Airports can be a pain, but with my state driver's license and a TSA number, I get through security easily and efficiently, never had a problem other than how long the line is. I cannot see how this idea improves anything.
2 - On the other hand, taking a secure personal hard-copy form of ID and turning it digital is a big risk. Anything digital online or in the cloud is at risk. See comments above me - they stated the issue much more eloquently or with greate
Full control. (Score:4, Insightful)
"When you offer your mobile ID to TSA or anyone else who accepts it, you are in full control of sharing that information. They can only see the information they request to see," ...
I imagine the TSA wants to see everything to get an accurate match/check. Any assertion of your "full control" will be met with, "Do you want to fly today?"
Good advice.
Re:Full control. (Score:5, Interesting)
The way this is described seems to indicate your phone has to be unlocked to use it - which also means this isn't integrated with the Wallet apps from Apple and Google. Which in turn means New York almost certainly rolled their own security rather than rely on the people at Apple and Google, who arguably know device security the best.
If I lived in New York, I don't think I'd want to use this as it currently exists.
Re: (Score:2)
The way this is described seems to indicate your phone has to be unlocked to use it - which also means this isn't integrated with the Wallet apps from Apple and Google. Which in turn means New York almost certainly rolled their own security rather than rely on the people at Apple and Google, who arguably know device security the best.
If the phone has to be unlocked, then their advice to not hand your device over to LEO is especially appropriate.
If I lived in New York, I don't think I'd want to use this as it currently exists.
Agreed.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh you can fly today without showing identification? News to me.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh you can fly today without showing identification? News to me.
(a) Not sure what you're getting at as that's not what I was implying -- I was implying that you would *not* get to fly w/o showing full identification and (b) yes, actually you *may* be able to fly w/o identification if your identity can be confirmed by other means. From Acceptable Identification at the TSA Checkpoint [tsa.gov]:
Forgot Your ID?
In the event you arrive at the airport without valid identification, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly. The TSA officer may ask you to complete an identity verification process which includes collecting information such as your name, current address, and other personal information to confirm your identity. If your identity is confirmed, you will be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint. You will be subject to additional screening, to include a patdown and screening of carry-on property.
You will not be allowed to enter the security checkpoint if your identity cannot be confirmed, you choose to not provide proper identification or you decline to cooperate with the identity verification process.
Other sources note that, "You might be asked to sign a Certification of Identity [papersplease.org] form (TSA Form 415) with your name and address."
Re: (Score:2)
In the event you arrive at the airport without valid identification, because it is lost or at home, you may still be allowed to fly.
This hinges on the use of the word "may", which I would guarantee is written to mean (and will be interpreted by the courts as) "might" (as in maybe), not "have permission to". In other words, TSA reserves the right to refuse travel if you don't have ID.
Re: (Score:2)
The first time I used a Lyft to get to the airport, I didn't scoop up my wallet while using my phone.
A thorough search of my luggage, a scan of me for gunpowder, and a search for what I *did* have.
They couldn't use my photo of my license.
We ended up using a car club magazine addressed to me, and a checkbook with my name, as conservator.
The best of all things, apparently, is any federally issued document with your SS on it.
Re: (Score:2)
Christ you read some tabloid fear mongering bullshit. In the real world this is what's happening. (I followed the first link and the fourth paragraph down)
In practice, this means migrants who have entered the country using the CBP One app – some 45,000 people a month – can use it as their travel document and even choose whether to allow officers to take their picture.
So no, Biden isn't opening airplane doors and waving in illegal immigrants.
Looks so scammy (Score:1)
Re: I don't even let gas stations/bars scan my ID (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
There are but none of them are cheap.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Nobody gives a fuck who you are or what bars you're visiting. You aren't that important.
Mobile Driver's License? (Score:2)
I don't get it. Just because it's on my phone doesn't make it mobile. I still have to carry something around...
A nice app with love from Jinping (Score:2)
What could go wrong when the state's code is running on your phone and in every business?
NY has such an enviable security record and wouldn't deign to pillage users' data beyond its legal purview (plus whatever's granted by the TOS that nobody reads) or expose anybody to hacking via shoddy code or pure negligence.
What a Great Idea! (Score:1)
Let's put private companies in charge of your government-issued ID. What could go wrong?
Batteries Required! (Score:3)
Even if they get everything right and it works perfectly, you're relying on other apps, the mobile OS, the mobile hardware, and a battery. Any one of those fail then you have nothing. Yesterday I had my phone refuse to put an app in the background. A week ago it completely froze. This stuff hadn't happened before--maybe it's the hardware failing, maybe it's an updated app that's messing things up, or something else.
It's kind of like having fingerprint-enabled gun. When you need it, if the battery dies, the OS freezes, etc. then you're dead.
No thanks. I can't see any benefit to a mobile ID. Plus the downsides are too great.
Re: (Score:2)
Fortunately there are very few situations where failure to present a DL results in instant death.
Take control (Score:2)
>"you are in full control of sharing that information. They can only see the information they request to see," Schroeder said. "If you only need to prove your age, you can withhold other information that a verifier doesn't need to see."
I have been doing that for many, many years. I put a sticker over the barcodes. I don't allow anyone to "scan" my ID in a machine-readable way, because they don't need that. It has caused a slight amount of inconvenience a few times, but I would escalate it to managemen
what could go wrong? (Score:2)
All I know is that whenever I go the the airport, there is a gaggle of fliers off to the side trying to get their phones to work to show their check-ins and boarding passes.
This is a good thing, because (Score:2)
Here's how it will play out (Score:2)
I'm calling it now: