Last year, Apple introduced the Digital ID on the iPhone, allowing users to use their U.S. passport as ID in Apple Wallet. Apple has been gradually adding driver's licenses to Wallet in recent years, but that's done at the state level. Digital ID is universal, allowing anyone with a passport to use it.
See also: iOS 26 – Digital ID: Passport to Apple Wallet in 2025
You can use it at TSA checkpoints at airports, but Apple had a bigger goal: digital age and identity verification. While it's not yet confirmed, it's possible we'll see the first major implementation of this soon, in Claude.
If you follow AI news, you’re probably aware that Fable 5 and Mythos 5 have been disabled for all customers after the US government added export controls. This came after reports of a jailbreak, so now Fable 5 and Mythos 5 are unavailable to foreign nationals, whether they’re in the US or outside of it.
Fable 5 was only released under the assumption that it would be protected from potentially dangerous behavior, which is why jailbreaking was considered a concern. Whether this should really be a concern is up for debate.
However, Fable 5 could theoretically return if the company could implement identity verification and ensure that only US citizens could use the model. While Anthropic could opt for a traditional identity verification approach, it could also look into Apple's digital identity feature.
See also: Apple Wallet: Digital driver's license option in Arkansas
It's not a matter of if, but when. Many would prefer not to have their identity tied to the use of artificial intelligence, but unfortunately, that's the current situation.
Claude updated its privacy policy a few months ago to include references to identity verification using Persona , though this apparently only applies to accounts with fraudulent behavior and won't necessarily apply to every user who needs to be verified, according to an Anthropic employee .
This update was released in April and only applies to a small subset of users who have been flagged for potential fraudulent activity, rather than being banned outright. It was updated on June 17th as an update to the appeals process and is not related to the release of Fable or Mythos.
There’s no indication that Anthropic will use Apple’s digital ID feature for verification, but there is precedent. Anthropic was one of the few companies to use Apple’s built-in age verification API, allowing developers to verify users’ ages without having to handle it themselves. For that reason, it’s likely they’ll use Apple’s digital ID feature for nationality verification as well.
There are significant flaws with this approach. First, anyone without an iPhone will be automatically disqualified. You'll also be disqualified if you don't have a passport or don't live in one of the 14 states (plus Puerto Rico) that support driver's licenses in Apple Wallet.
See also: iOS 27: Create custom digital passes in Apple Wallet
However, for a hasty implementation in response to a directive that hopefully won't last, using Apple's digital ID feature could be beneficial. It keeps personal information out of the hands of potentially untrustworthy third-party identity verification services. We hope Anthropic moves in that direction.
