In preparation for the Made By Google event, where we’re expecting big reveals of the new Pixel 9 phone, Google has rolled out the AI-powered update to Android’s Wallet app that was announced at Google I/O 2024. The update makes it much easier to store a wider variety of digital passes (if you live in the US).
Previously, Google Wallet let you add and store debit cards, transit passes, loyalty cards, gift cards, and some IDs, with a final added option that let you take photos of anything you might want to add with a QR code or barcode. That photo mode got a major overhaul in the latest app update; it’s now called Everything Else, and it recognizes a much wider range of card types, namely:
- Business card
- Car insurance
- Driving license
- Events & Tickets
- Health insurance
- Identity card
- Library card
- Loyalty card
- Passport
- Residence permit
- Student card
- Tax card
- Vehicle registration
- Voter card
- Other
Click the ‘Add to Wallet’ button on the main page, select ‘All Other’, take a picture of it, edit any data the AI scanned incorrectly, and press ‘Save’.
Like your other Wallet additions, these items can be shared with your other Google Wallets. With the exception of passes that contain sensitive information, such as those related to health or government ID, they will only remain in the Wallets you manually add them to.
This Google Wallet update certainly makes it feel a lot more like a real wallet, especially with the addition of driver’s licenses, but we wouldn’t recommend replacing it with the real thing entirely. While having a digital version of an ID can help in an emergency, we expect that nine times out of ten a photo of your driver’s license or passport won’t cut it.
If you’re still seeing the old Photos option, it’s either because you’re not an Android user in the US or because the update hasn’t rolled out to your device yet. Stay tuned, the feature should be in your Wallet app soon.
