Apple introduced Digital ID last year, letting iPhone users store their US passports in Wallet for instant ID checks. The feature works nationwide, unlike state‑by‑state driver‑license support, and already sees use at TSA checkpoints.

Anthropic’s recent export‑control‑shuttered models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, have sparked interest in tighter user verification. The company could adopt Apple’s Digital ID to confirm U.S. citizenship before granting model access, sidestepping third‑party checks.

Such a move would lock out non‑iPhone users and those lacking passports, but it keeps sensitive data on Apple’s secure platform. Anthropic already partnered with Apple’s age‑verification API, suggesting a precedent for using the same system for nationality checks. The decision could set a new standard for AI‑related identity safeguards.