The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Phone as ID coming

Phone+as+ID+coming

A new application will allow Iowa residents to have their IDs on their phones.

By Anders Frieberg
[email protected]

Are you continually misplacing everything you own, including your ID? There’s an app for that, too.

In approximately 12 to 18 months, the state of Iowa and the Department of Transportation will adopt a new technology, developed by MorphoTrust USA, to bring Iowa driver’s licenses to users’ phones.

An official from MorphoTrust USA did not immediately return a phone call for comment by the time of publication.

Iowa will become the first state in the nation to adopt this type of technology. The program has cost the DOT less than $50,000 and could have more features than a plastic card could.

“The digital IDs will not significantly save the state any more money but will offer citizens the flexibility of having their IDs on their phones or a physical one,” DOT spokeswoman Andrea Henry said.

Henry said the app is still in its testing stages. Before the app goes live, law enforcement and the business community will be trained on the new features.

The app will allow it to communicate with state databases, reflecting changes to driver’s licenses in real-time, such as a 21st birthday or an address change.

The virtual ID will only be available on Apple devices at first, but plans are to eventually expand it to other platforms.

In the future, officials have considered connecting the app to Amber Alerts and similar technology, Henry said.

Justin O’Donnell, a manager at the Airliner, 22 S. Clinton St., said he had doubts about the security of the digitalized IDs.

“Hacking these and making fake IDs might be easier, and identity theft could potentially arise from this,” he said. “We would accept these as identification only if law enforcement supported them.”

Though Iowa residents could potentially use the application, the ID will still need to be inspected.

“As for efficiency, we would still need to individually check each ID, so it would not be sped up at all,” O’Donnell said.

When asked if these might catch on, he said, “This would be convenient for younger, college students who take their phones everywhere.”

Some University of Iowa students shared the same level of wariness about the new technology. Freshman Gavin Thomas felt it was an unnecessary upgrade.

“I would be concerned about viruses or hacking,” he said. “I also take my wallet everywhere, so it wouldn’t be especially convenient for me. My physical driver’s license has never been inconvenient enough for me to switch.”

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