On September 19-24 Apple added California Driver's Licenses & State IDs in Apple Wallet as Part of a California DMV Pilot Program. California follows recent launches in Hawaii and Ohio, which join Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland. Additionally, Montana, New Mexico, and West Virginia have signed on to adopt IDs in Wallet.

The first major patent on this surfaced in 2019. Related patents were covered in 2020 with a few granted patent issued in 2021 (01 and 02).  

Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a patent application from Apple titled "Issuance of Digital Presentable User Identity," that was only filed in early April of 2024.  

Apple's patent notes that users can store credentials, which include identifying information and financial information, in digital format on their devices for presentation to an appropriate authority. Using computers and the credentials, users can now browse available goods and services, make selections, and effectuate transactions without being physically present, and without having to produce physical credentials. Certain transactions, such as opening a bank account and passing security at an airport require enhanced scrutiny of the credentials. This can be the case when a user is presenting a credential in person or remotely. To provide appropriate verification, a user can provide a credential that is verifiable by a relying party.

However, the relying party may still need to have the ability to determine that the credential is not being presented by someone other than the credential owner. One issue for credential verification can be that identity services can match presented information to information stored in a database, but cannot verify if the person presenting the information is actually the person whose information is being presented.

Embodiments described in Apple's patent application provide verification techniques for creating a verified data package that can be presented to one or more relying authorities to verify the identity of the user. A user can use an application on their phone to retrieve biographical information and a portrait from a digitally enhanced identification (e.g., a digital passport or enhanced driver's license).

The user can further capture a live self-portrait photograph (e.g., selfie). The user can the application to transmit the biographical information, portrait, and self-portrait photograph to a server. The server can use image processing and a machine learning model to verify that the person in the portrait is the same person that captured the self-portrait photograph. Based on determining a match, the server can generate a verified data package that includes the biographical information, the portrait, and an attestation that the portrait is the same person that captured the self-portrait photograph.

The server can sign the verified data package and then transmit the signed verified data package to the application on the user's device. The application can store the verified data package on the device and the verified data package can be reused each time the user is requested to verify their identity.

Embodiments described in the patent provide credential verification techniques for creating a reusable verified data package that can be presented to one or more relying authorities to verify identity. A user can use an application on their device to scan a physical document, such as a driver's license, passport, credit card, or other similar document.

The scan can include a photograph of the document and machine readable zone (MRZ) of the document. The MRZ can include information such as a document number, country code, nationality, and date of birth. The user can further use the application on their device to read a microprocessor chip embedded in the document using a short range transmission protocol, such as near field communication (NFC). The chip can include information that identifies the owner of the document (e.g., name, identification number, address, eye color, weight, height).

Apple's patent FIG. 2 below is an illustration of a document to be used to generate a verified data package; FIG. 3 is an illustration of a system for validation by relying party of a verified data package.

Apple's patent FIG. 4 above is a process flow for initiating generation of a verified data package; FIG. 5 is a signaling diagram for generating a verified data package.

To review the full details of this invention, check out patent application  20240333512.