Wallet app on iOS 26 confirmed to store U.S. passports later this year

The latest version of iOS seems to be focused on making traveling easier, at least for U.S. citizens.

Apple confirmed this week that U.S. passport holders will be able to store a digital version of their passport in iOS 26's Wallet app later this year. The rollout is only for U.S. passports at this point, and will be coming "later this year," according to Apple's website. 

While storing passport information is a new feature for iOS, Google brought digital passports to Android's Google Wallet app last year. However, travelers would still need to bring their physical passports for international flights. Even when traveling domestically, not all U.S. TSA security checkpoints will accept a digital ID, so it's still a safe bet to bring physical identification along.

There have also been a handful of apps that have allowed travelers to store digital passports on their smartphones, but this feature is baked into Apple's own Wallet app. As such, it may play a bit nicer with iPhones (though this remains to be seen). 

In addition to passports, several states in the U.S. allow digital versions of driver's licenses, state IDs, and other forms of government-issued identification. As such, it appears that a future where everything from banking to identification to any other personal service is stored and accessed on a single device is rapidly approaching.

Given how susceptible computers in general and smartphones in particular are to hacks and thefts, whether this is a future we want (in terms of personal security) is a topic for discussion. In the meantime (and likely in the future), it remains a good idea to keep physical documentation and cards on your person.

Digital ID will come to the Wallet app in iOS 26 later this year.

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