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Iowa planning America’s first iPhone driver’s license, working on privacy concerns

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If you’re pulled over by a patrol car in Iowa, you might in future find the officer asking for your ‘iPhone and registration, please.’ The state is working on creating a smartphone app that can be shown in place of a physical license, reports the WSJ.

DOT spokeswoman Andrea Henry said that both security and privacy concerns need to be addressed before the project can proceed. Animation might be used to guard against someone showing a screengrab in place of the app, and privacy will be protected by ensuring that “the phone never leaves your hands.”

Users could hold up the phone so that police or Transportation Security Administration officers can scan the license electronically, rather than handling the phone.

The app will also need to hide notifications while it is in use, preventing a police officer having access to any other information on the phone, such as text message alerts.

MorphoTrust USA, the company working with the state to create the app, says that it is in discussion with more than 20 other states.

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Comments

  1. kevicosuave - 9 years ago

    How Apple implements this in iOS is extremely important. What we don’t want is to be logged in at all when the license is displayed. So either it’s an app that allows you to display the license and fully logs you out (possibly with the option to turn on video recording), or it shows up in your ICE panel.

    At issue is handing over an iPhone to someone who can then have access to anything if you’re fully logged in, or can force you to unlock using your fingerprints. Restarting or shutting down your iPhone fully logs you out.

  2. James Alexander - 9 years ago

    Hope Arizona is one of the 20 states. I already use my insurance card on my phone.

    • Michael Weisberg - 9 years ago

      Please tell me you have never allowed a police officer to have access to that insurance card on your phone. You should never willingly had over your mobile device to a police officer unless they present a valid search warrant. SCOTUS case of ‘Riley v. California’ protects your privacy rights.

  3. rettun1 - 9 years ago

    “Hmm looks like there’s an error ma’am, please unlock the phone again so I can take it to my car and scan it properly”

    *goes and opens photos app*

  4. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    Definitely a new way for police to trick people into unlocking their phones. Needs some standard lockscreen integration next to the emergency call feature or similar.

  5. jbach67 - 9 years ago

    And risk the officer dropping my phone? No thanks.

  6. Sam Ogmwoner Maas - 9 years ago

    Or what you could do is to take a pic of your dl, and set up an activator action to show the dl when needed.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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