Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities • Hacker News Board

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#61

Post by ghaff » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

ryanmarsh wrote: post #34

eqtn wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In India, there is an app which holds all your ids. We just enter the id number and required information and it will fetch the details. This includes school certificates, college certificates, driving license, birth certificate, Car/motorcycle papers and whole lot of other things. https://www.digilocker.gov.in/

I’m embarrassed the US doesn’t have this. You should see the absolute disaster that is digital records at the Dept. of Veteran Affairs. It’s better than it used to be and it’s still terrible.

Almost none of the information listed by the parent is in a federal database in general, nor really should it be.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#62

Post by basch » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 5:26 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #2

I'm a huge fan of being able to use my phone for everything whenever possible -- no wallet, no keys, no cards. So this is awesome on the part of Apple, but what about Android? Are student ID's on Android already a thing? Are they being developed? Or are there unique aspects of Apple controlling the hardware that inherently make cards like these more secure on Apple, that Android can't match (but maybe Pixel can)?

IMHO, Apple would be wise to be more like Microsoft, Facebook, and Google and release some Android apps.

Apple Wallet should be one of the first. Nobody is buying Apple devices for Apple Pay alone. They already realize the benefit having Apple Music be cross platform.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#63

Post by crazygringo » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 6:17 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #58

handrous wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the problem ? This seems like one of many applications of tech chasing very marginal gains.

The "problem," such as it is, is that an increasing number of people don't want to carry wallets any longer--carrying at most a few cards in a sleeve on their smartphone. So to the degree just a photo on their phone isn't good enough, they want a digital ID on their phone.

Exactly. A single card may not seem like a big deal, but all it takes is one card for you now to need a case with a sleeve and all that extra bulk and now your phone doesn't fit easily in your pocket.

"No longer needing a wallet" isn't a marginal gain -- it's a huge step forwards for convenience, security, and even safety.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#64

Post by crazygringo » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 6:18 PM UTC

fsflover wrote: post #12

crazygringo wrote: post #2

I'm a huge fan of being able to use my phone for everything whenever possible -- no wallet, no keys, no cards. So this is awesome on the part of Apple, but what about Android? Are student ID's on Android already a thing? Are they being developed? Or are there unique aspects of Apple controlling the hardware that inherently make cards like these more secure on Apple, that Android can't match (but maybe Pixel can)?

> So this is awesome on the part of Apple, but what about Android? But what if I have neither iOS, nor Android? Why must the government/universities support the duopoly?

iOS plus Android certainly covers 99%+ of phones used by a student population in the US.

And physical cards exist as a fallback.

It's not about "supporting a duopoly" in the sense of entrenching it -- it's simply about cost-effectively supporting the devices students already have and use.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#65

Post by valarauko » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 6:25 PM UTC

eqtn wrote: post #21

personlurking wrote: post #9

I'm curious how different digital IDs will work in the near future. Will one app hold all your official IDs or will there be an app for each purpose? After fall 2022, the EU plans to do a pilot of the EU digital ID. It would "let users store electronic forms of identification and other official documents, such as driver’s licenses, prescriptions and school diplomas." [1] https://apnews.com/article/europe-health-coron…

In India, there is an app which holds all your ids. We just enter the id number and required information and it will fetch the details. This includes school certificates, college certificates, driving license, birth certificate, Car/motorcycle papers and whole lot of other things. https://www.digilocker.gov.in/

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the data retrieval only works for a tiny fraction of government documents, like the Aadhaar. For everything else like college certificates, it's only storing the image you submit. At least this was my experience some years ago.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#66

Post by ghaff » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 7:29 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #63

ghaff wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "problem," such as it is, is that an increasing number of people don't want to carry wallets any longer--carrying at most a few cards in a sleeve on their smartphone. So to the degree just a photo on their phone isn't good enough, they want a digital ID on their phone.

Exactly. A single card may not seem like a big deal, but all it takes is one card for you now to need a case with a sleeve and all that extra bulk and now your phone doesn't fit easily in your pocket. "No longer needing a wallet" isn't a marginal gain -- it's a huge step forwards for convenience, security, and even safety.

I definitely still use a sleeve (Apple magnetic wallet thingie) to carry a few cards. But--assuming I'm willing to bet I won't need cash when walking around (which in the US is a decent bet in general)--not carrying a wallet, even a sleek one, is still a positive.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#67

Post by silicon2401 » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 7:37 PM UTC

vishnugupta wrote: post #33

I hope Apple and institutions that rely on it make it easy to recover from a lost device. I totally get the convenience angle, being an Apple ecosystem dweller myself. However, with more and more of identities, payments moving to a single device the recovery workflow should be hassle free. With physical documents, my IDs are spread out so if I lose my drivers' license I can pull out my passport to get a new one. How…

I was just thinking this earlier today. So many of the same people who are careful to diversify their financial investments, mind their cyber security by having different passwords and MFA, also put all their valuables in one bundle, whether that's a phone case-wallet or digital cards. I'll pass unless we reach a point where we have no alternative.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#68

Post by secabeen » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 8:28 PM UTC

fsflover wrote: post #40

secabeen wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple PR is being really careful with their language: "This fall, the University of Alabama will be the first school to exclusively issue mobile student IDs to their 38,000 students with eligible devices ." The UofA action card office will continue to produce physical cards for students, no mobile device required: https://actcard.ua.edu/faq/

Nevertheless those without iPhones will be at disadvantage AFAIK.

Google-enabled Android is also fully supported. People without smart phones will be disadvantaged slightly, yes.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#69

Post by tzs » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 8:37 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #58

handrous wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the problem ? This seems like one of many applications of tech chasing very marginal gains.

The "problem," such as it is, is that an increasing number of people don't want to carry wallets any longer--carrying at most a few cards in a sleeve on their smartphone. So to the degree just a photo on their phone isn't good enough, they want a digital ID on their phone.

Does a sleeve really do much? I just carry my cards loose in my pocket (a credit card, my driver's license, and my health insurance card). If I think I might need cash I'll toss a $20 in too.

Re: Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch Expand to Canada and More US Universities

#70

Post by handrous » Tue, Aug 03, 2021, 8:44 PM UTC

tzs wrote: post #69

ghaff wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "problem," such as it is, is that an increasing number of people don't want to carry wallets any longer--carrying at most a few cards in a sleeve on their smartphone. So to the degree just a photo on their phone isn't good enough, they want a digital ID on their phone.

Does a sleeve really do much? I just carry my cards loose in my pocket (a credit card, my driver's license, and my health insurance card). If I think I might need cash I'll toss a $20 in too.

If I carry more than one thing in a pocket, especially if one or more of the things is small, I usually end up dropping things a lot, sometimes without realizing it, while getting something else out. That's the main reason I use a card holder and don't do what you do. Other benefit is that the cards are very unlikely to end up in different places in your house when you need to find them. Even if you are very careful to always stack them in the same place when you get home and never take anything from the pile without taking it back, it's much easier to bump a card off a table and have it sail under furniture across the room, without noticing, than it is a wallet or card holder.

[EDIT] and of course a sleeve on a smartphone is even harder to lose than a separate card holder. Plus, it comes with find-my without needing to buy some kind of extra bluetooth tag or something.