Indiana Is The Latest State To Embrace Digital Licenses But The Real Thing Is Still Required To Drive

The state of Indiana has been looking into mobile driver's licenses since 2019, and, apparently, it liked what it saw. The state says that drivers should be able to get a digital licenses should be available within the next year and a half, if they so choose. 

A mobile license is a driver's license that drivers will be able to access on their phones. The supposed advantage of a mobile license is that it limits the amount of info drivers have to show, say, a bartender or bank teller, if all they need is age or identity verification. The license would come on a mobile app and require a facial scan like Face ID or a correct fingerprint via Touch ID to unlock.

Digitizing something that arguably no one asked to be digitized has "future privacy snafu" written all over it. Officials are already aware of and discussing the obvious cybersecurity risks, but there's one big risk Indiana drivers won't have to worry about; unlawful search of their cellphones.

"There's no way I'm handing a police officer — a group not known for their restraint when it comes to abusing information — my unlocked phone in the event of a traffic stop just because my driver's license is on there," you might say. It's an understandable reaction. At least in the beginning, Hoosiers who opt in for a mobile license won't need to do any of that.

The mobile license isn't meant to completely replace the physical license. In fact, drivers will still need to have a physical driver's license to legally drive; a mobile license on the phone alone won't cut it. Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles general counsel Matt Kestian explicitly told Indiana Capital Chronicle, "[the mobile license system is] designed that the officer is not going to take the person's phone and be able to go through it." And, it bears repeating, having a mobile license at all will be an optional, opt-in, no-charge thing.

We cynics can totally see a point in the not-so-far future in which a successful rollout of opt-in mobile licenses leads to mobile licenses for everybody, whether we like it or not. Until then, remember to turn off your biometric unlocking on your phone if you think you might encounter cops. Cops can't force you to give them the code to your phone, but they can hold it up to your face and unlock it!