Illinois iPhone Users Get Digital IDs — Here’s The Downside

Illinois is split about these new Digital IDs on our phones, but there is a major downside to this.  Let me tell you why it's really important to still keep your physical ID on you at all times.

Let's recap: Apple users will soon be able to use digital IDs and driver's licenses, according to the Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulia's office. Starting tomorrow, Apple users will have access to this feature, then Samsung and Google users by 2026.

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There are just a few major problems to having digital everything.

Your phone dies.

Your phone gets stolen.

You lose your phone somewhere.

More than 70 million phones are lost every year, and 1 in 4 Americans have experienced their phones being hacked or accessed without permission.  So now we're adding our driver's license to that?  Yeah, sounds so safe.

And then there's the privacy part.  Digital IDs sound like we're choosing convenience, until convenience becomes surveillance.  Apple says everything is encrypted and secure, but cybercrime is a $12 trillion industry for a reason.  Even major companies, hospitals, and government systems get hacked.

Read More: Illinois Drivers Get Powerful New iPhone Digital ID Feature 

Illinois itself has been known to have multiple data breachers in the past decade, so you're telling me hackers wouldn't find a way to get ahold of our information through our phones?

Sure, Digital IDs are really convenient, I love the concept.  They'll be great for most people, but it shouldn't mean giving up basic control over our own identity.  For now, I think I'll stick with my physical ID until I'm forced to 100% switch to digital everything.