Travelers enrolled in TSA PreCheck can now clear select security lanes without pulling out a physical ID at all. The Transportation Security Administration and Google Wallet announced a new opt-in Touchless ID experience on June 24, 2026, and it’s already live at 65 airports nationwide.
Key Points
- TSA PreCheck Touchless ID uses facial comparison technology in dedicated checkpoint lanes so travelers don’t hand over a driver’s license or passport card.
- The program is now available at 65 airports and works with more than 100 TSA PreCheck-participating airlines, according to the TSA announcement.
- Google Wallet is, in the company’s own words, “the first digital wallet to partner with” TSA on the Touchless ID program.
- Six airlines — Alaska, American, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest and United — currently support a manual opt-in version of the feature at select airports.
- Your digital ID stays encrypted on your phone and is shared with TSA only after you explicitly consent and re-authenticate with a biometric, PIN or pattern.
The mechanics are simpler than the name suggests. A traveler adds a passport-based digital ID to Google Wallet, then checks in with a participating airline and saves the boarding pass to the same wallet. If the flight and airline are eligible, a “Get started” button appears directly on the boarding pass. Tapping it routes the traveler to a TSA consent screen, where they authorize sharing the digital ID and boarding pass information. TSA confirms the enrollment and sends a success code back to Google Wallet, which then updates the boarding pass with a Touchless ID indicator that’s scanned at the checkpoint, according to both the TSA release and Google’s own product post.
Shelu Patel, TSA’s Modernization Acting Chief Innovation Officer, framed the rollout as part of a broader push, saying the agency “is fully dedicated to enhancing passenger experience through advanced technology” and strategic partnerships. On Google’s side, P.J. Linarducci, the company’s VP of Product Management for Consumer Payments, said the integration “aligns perfectly with our goal to make digital experiences more secure and convenient.”
The Google Wallet integration builds on a rollout that’s been happening airport by airport all year, with the underlying Touchless ID program landing at Boston Logan, Miami International, Albuquerque International Sunport and Will Rogers International in recent months before this month’s phone-based expansion. It only applies to travelers who already hold TSA PreCheck membership — Touchless ID changes how you prove your identity at the lane, not whether you qualify for the expedited line in the first place.
Nothing about this replaces your physical ID — a passport or license still works at every lane, and enrollment is opt-in only. But for the growing number of travelers already living out of their phone’s wallet app, it means one less thing to dig for at the checkpoint. TSA and Google both describe the current 65-airport footprint as a starting point, with wider airline and airport participation expected to roll out over the coming weeks.
