Google has just made international travel a lot simpler.
A new update brings passports to your phone wallet as a digital ID.
If you spend a lot of time travelling, you'll know just how much stuff you need to carry. Whether it's miniature toiletries, gadgets to keep you occupied on the train, or even just a mountain of paperwork to ensure you can get through the various checkpoints on your journey, there's always something else to stuff into your bag.
Fortunately, modern technology can help there. Google Wallet on Android phones – and other competitor apps on other operating systems – enable you to keep all of your bank cards on your handset, allowing you to leave your physical wallet elsewhere.
Now, that app has some added functionality. Users with a US Passport will be able to add that to their Google Wallet, allowing them to use certain gates without needing their physical ID.
That's a killer free upgrade. Think of how convenient it is to simply tap your phone on a contactless reader to pay for things – that's how easy it could soon be to get through the airport!
Of course, there are some limitations. The first – and most obvious – is the fact that only US Passports are currently supported. That pulls it down to just a tiny fraction of the world population – though hopefully others can be supported further down the line.
You'll also be limited in terms of where you can use the passport. As you might expect, a modern, innovative technology like this isn't widely accepted right now, though there are a decent range of airports involved. In fact, 27 states currently have at least one airport accepting digital ID – with a full list available on the TSA website.
It's certainly a cool upgrade for users. Sure, it only affects a small cross-section of the world at the moment, but that's certain to change as it gets more widely accepted across devices and locations.
