Smartphones and face recognition are being combined to create new digital travel documents. The paper passport’s days are numbered—despite new privacy risks.
If anything, I wish they made passports into the size of a regular ID so it fits in a wallet/cardholder and you don’t have to worry about it getting folded or wet. Make visas and stamps digital so a chip scan of the card provides all the info, instead of eye/face recognition/tracking.
That would be great, sure- but all I really want is boarding passes to be the same size as the passport. They go together, so why don’t they make them so they actually go together?
Angrily tries again to read seat number, obscured by the rumpled creases from the bit that sticks out from the passport getting folded in a pocket
Yeah. The fact that our my country’s primary ID document is an easily-damageable paper booklet is very annoying, especially given the fact that in 99% of cases, only one page - the laminated one with the name and photo - is needed! That page could easily be a plastic card.
I think the problem with a digital passport is that while that’s fine in very developed countries, you’ll alwadys need a physical human readible stamp to show authorities when they don’t have a digital reader.
For many years now whenever I travel within EU I use my EU identity card and it’s very convenient. Would indeed be great if I could use something like it outside EU as well.
They do in the US if you live in a border state, but it’s only valid for Mexico/Canada. Think the idea is having space for physical visa stamps, but I don’t see why they’d prefer that to a digital visa tied to something unique in the passport.
From the article, it sounds more like they’re using shared databases and facial recognition more than smartphones or similar. So they’d presumably have the requisite devices at customs.
That doesn’t sound better. I get the shared databases, though it does introduce security issues. But the facial recognition that’s been proven flaked and flawed and based on biometric data that can be leaked and never changed… no thank you.
Agreed. And even if there are devices plugged in and always running and (miraculously) always functional, what do you do in a disaster situation where all infrastructure is knocked out? That is the exact time you’d want to make sure there are no impediments to foreign support being able to enter the country. But with nothing physical to fall back on for identification, what would you do?
I’m all for digitizing currency and the like, I really never carry cash anymore. But ID documents are still crucial to have physical copies of, and the passport remains the only internationally recognized standard.
New film plot: the airport’s facial recognition system can’t tell the difference between the intended copilot and their identical twin, a terrorist. Question is, is it a comedy about bureaucracy or an edge-of-your-seat thriller?
Literally shoot me if this becomes a reality. I don’t want my ability to travel to be dependent on something with a steadily dying battery.
If anything, I wish they made passports into the size of a regular ID so it fits in a wallet/cardholder and you don’t have to worry about it getting folded or wet. Make visas and stamps digital so a chip scan of the card provides all the info, instead of eye/face recognition/tracking.
That would be great, sure- but all I really want is boarding passes to be the same size as the passport. They go together, so why don’t they make them so they actually go together?
Angrily tries again to read seat number, obscured by the rumpled creases from the bit that sticks out from the passport getting folded in a pocket
If you are in America, you can get a passport card!
The link also mentions you can use it in place of other id cards in domestic flights, but I’ve heard some TSA agents don’t believe it exists.
Certainly not as useful as a full blown passport, but it is a thing. I am hoping it gets more usage over time.
Yeah. The fact that our my country’s primary ID document is an easily-damageable paper booklet is very annoying, especially given the fact that in 99% of cases, only one page - the laminated one with the name and photo - is needed! That page could easily be a plastic card.
In my passport that page is basically a plastic card, same as my ID card, just a bigger format
I think the problem with a digital passport is that while that’s fine in very developed countries, you’ll alwadys need a physical human readible stamp to show authorities when they don’t have a digital reader.
For many years now whenever I travel within EU I use my EU identity card and it’s very convenient. Would indeed be great if I could use something like it outside EU as well.
Rationally I agree, but at the same time I actually really like the passport booklet. I don’t know, it feels so much more official.
They do in the US if you live in a border state, but it’s only valid for Mexico/Canada. Think the idea is having space for physical visa stamps, but I don’t see why they’d prefer that to a digital visa tied to something unique in the passport.
The passport card is good for boats and driving, not for flying.
Not just a dying battery, but a fragile screen, malware, and a tendency to get stolen.
From the article, it sounds more like they’re using shared databases and facial recognition more than smartphones or similar. So they’d presumably have the requisite devices at customs.
That doesn’t sound better. I get the shared databases, though it does introduce security issues. But the facial recognition that’s been proven flaked and flawed and based on biometric data that can be leaked and never changed… no thank you.
Agreed. And even if there are devices plugged in and always running and (miraculously) always functional, what do you do in a disaster situation where all infrastructure is knocked out? That is the exact time you’d want to make sure there are no impediments to foreign support being able to enter the country. But with nothing physical to fall back on for identification, what would you do?
I’m all for digitizing currency and the like, I really never carry cash anymore. But ID documents are still crucial to have physical copies of, and the passport remains the only internationally recognized standard.
New film plot: the airport’s facial recognition system can’t tell the difference between the intended copilot and their identical twin, a terrorist. Question is, is it a comedy about bureaucracy or an edge-of-your-seat thriller?
“Starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart”