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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has partnered with Google Wallet to make it easier than ever for eligible travelers to use TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID by eliminating the need to repeatedly enroll through individual airlines. Google Wallet is the first digital wallet to support TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID by allowing travelers to verify their identity using facial recognition technology at dedicated security lanes without presenting a physical ID or boarding pass.
Previously, travelers who wanted to use Touchless ID typically had to save their passport information with participating airlines like Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or United Airlines and manually opt in to each one. Those flying multiple airlines had to repeat the process across several accounts. The new Google Wallet integration streamlines that experience into a single enrollment process.
To use the feature, travelers first create a digital ID in Google Wallet using a valid US passport. After checking in with a participating airline and saving their boarding pass to Google Wallet, eligible users will see a “Get Started” prompt that directs them to the TSA consent page. Once they authorize sharing their digital ID and boarding pass information, TSA confirms enrollment and updates the boarding pass with a TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID indicator.
Now, we just need Apple Wallet to get this feature. In the United States, Apple’s iPhone is the dominant smartphone with iOS commanding around 61.4% marketshare. This translates to over 150 million active iPhone users across the country.
At the airport, passengers can proceed through dedicated TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID lanes, where facial comparison technology verifies their identity without requiring them to present physical documents, which helps reduce wait times and speed up the screening process. TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID is currently available at 65 airports across the United States and can now be used with more than 100 participating TSA PreCheck® airlines at eligible airports through Google Wallet.
Anthony’s Take: The rollout marks another step toward a more digital travel experience and reduces friction for frequent flyers while making airport security faster and more convenient. Come on, Apple, it’s time you add this as well.
(Image Credits: TSA and Google.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
