Google Wallet beats the iPhone to a touchless airport security trick

Google Wallet is now the first digital wallet to team up with the TSA on PreCheck Touchless ID, letting eligible US flyers clear security with a face scan instead of a physical ID. Apple Wallet on the iPhone can't do this yet, so if you have TSA PreCheck and an Android with Google Wallet, you opt in once and you're covered across 100 participating airlines.

Google Wallet skips the airport ID fumble

Google announced today that Wallet is now the first digital wallet partner for the TSA's PreCheck Touchless ID program. It leans on the TSA's secure facial comparison at the checkpoint, so there's no reaching for a physical ID or a boarding pass.

Touchless ID already runs at 65 airports nationwide, but until now it covered only a limited set of airlines and made you upload your passport details separately for each one. With the Wallet integration rolling out over the coming weeks, a single opt-in carries you across any of the 100 participating airlines.

This builds on digital ID groundwork Google has been laying for a while. We walked through earlier how a passport saved in Wallet can spare you the TSA's new $45 fee for travelers without a compliant physical ID.

What it changes if you carry an iPhone or Galaxy

For anyone who flies often, the win is simple, you stop re-enrolling airline by airline and just look at the camera. Your passport details stay encrypted on the phone, and nothing reaches the TSA until you unlock the device and approve the share.

If you're on an iPhone, Apple Wallet holds digital IDs in some states but isn't a TSA Touchless ID partner, so that face-scan shortcut isn't yours for now. Samsung got closer last month with a digital passport feature, though it runs through CLEAR rather than the TSA's own PreCheck Touchless ID.

So if your wallet of choice is Apple's or Samsung's, this particular TSA face-scan line still skips you, even if your phone can hold a digital ID either way. Google moving first here is the kind of head start that tends to push the others to match it.

Who can use it, and how to switch it on

The checklist is short. You need TSA PreCheck, a US passport added to Google Wallet, and a flight on one of the 100 supported airlines, which points squarely at US-based Android travelers.

Here's how to set up TSA PreCheck Touchless ID

1. Add your US passport as an ID pass in Google Wallet.
2. Check in for your flight and save the boarding pass to Wallet.
3. Tap the "Get started" button on the boarding pass.
4. Agree to share your ID pass and that trip's boarding pass with the TSA.
5. Wait for the Touchless ID badge to show up on your pass, then use the express PreCheck Touchless ID line.

Why I set my passport up the moment I could

I already have TSA PreCheck and my digital ID sitting on my Pixel, so this one is right up my alley. Adding the passport took just a few minutes, and knowing the touchless lane is a single opt-in away makes the next trip feel a bit less stressful. I'm looking forward to trying the face-scan part the next time I fly, and I'll report back on how smooth it really is.

• The best Android phones to pair with Wallet
• How Google Wallet first added US passport support
• Follow me, @jojothetechie, on X and Threads for hot takes and behind-the-scenes coverage.

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