Johns Hopkins University students can now use iPhone or Apple Watch as ID

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2019
Students at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University can now use an iPhone or Apple Watch in place of a physical ID card for getting around campus, as well as paying for university services.

Johns Hopkins J-Card


Once activated, a digital "J-Card" ID appears in Apple's Wallet app, the Baltimore Sun said on Thursday. With "Express Mode" left on by default, all that's needed is to hold an iPhone or Watch next to a reader -- no Face ID, Touch ID, passcode, or even waking or unlocking a device.

For extra security students can turn Express Mode off, resulting in an experience like Apple Pay. Apple's ID system lets students check their account info via Wallet, such as food and print amounts.

On campus, students will be able to do things like unlock doors, print at the library and buy items at the bookstore. Some off-campus businesses are participating in purchases as well, among them Chipotle, CVS and 7-Eleven.

Johns Hopkins is the fifth U.S. school to support Wallet IDs -- the others are Duke, Temple, Santa Clara, and the Universities of Alabama and Oklahoma. That leaves many others to go, including every Ivy League institution.

Device requirements are relatively low, starting with only an iPhone 6 and/or an Apple Watch Series 1. Users must also download the eAccounts app.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    So is this for iPhone and Watch owners only or are Android users included? If it’s Apple only will there be claims of anti-competitive collusion between John Hopkins and Apple. I say this only with semi sarcasm because these days Apple seems to be in everybody’s crosshairs. So it wouldn’t surprise me if such a claim was made.
    edited March 2019 watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 12
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    More universities will join this bandwagon. Less request from students for replacement ID. Win-win for everyone.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 12
    headfull0wineheadfull0wine Posts: 111member
    If I were a student, I would want 2 tiers of security. I’d be ok with express mode to open doors and such, but I would want biometrics for anything financial.  No one should be able to drain my stored balance with just the phone. 

    Surely that hat could be coded in?  
    bonobobwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 12
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    wood1208 said:
    More universities will join this bandwagon. Less request from students for replacement ID. Win-win for everyone.
    What about the poor, left out Samsung users? Is not Android the most popular mobile platform on planet Earth? Will they still need to use physical keys and ID badges? It sounds so anti-trust and monopolistic. Maybe the ITC should investigate immediately.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 12
    NotsofastNotsofast Posts: 450member
    What about the poor, left out Samsung users? Is not Android the most popular mobile platform on planet Earth? Will they still need to use physical keys and ID badges? It sounds so anti-trust and monopolistic. Maybe the ITC should investigate immediately. Love the sarcasm!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 12
    ednlednl Posts: 61member
    Typo in title: JohnS Hopkins.
    maclin3
  • Reply 7 of 12
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    If I were a student, I would want 2 tiers of security. I’d be ok with express mode to open doors and such, but I would want biometrics for anything financial.  No one should be able to drain my stored balance with just the phone. 

    Surely that hat could be coded in?  
    This is no different than having to use your TouchID or FaceID before you can use, say, ApplePay or Apple Wallet. In other words, perfectly fine. And safe. A non-issue. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 12
    maclin3maclin3 Posts: 24member
    ednl said:
    Typo in title: JohnS Hopkins.
    Left coast bias. Author probably went to Tanford. 
    lostkiwiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 12
    ihatescreennamesihatescreennames Posts: 1,904member
    anantksundaram said:
    If I were a student, I would want 2 tiers of security. I’d be ok with express mode to open doors and such, but I would want biometrics for anything financial.  No one should be able to drain my stored balance with just the phone. 

    Surely that hat could be coded in?  
    This is no different than having to use your TouchID or FaceID before you can use, say, ApplePay or Apple Wallet. In other words, perfectly fine. And safe. A non-issue. 
    I think the OP was referring to Express Mode. While EM makes everything convenient it sounds like it offers no security and I can’t see why anyone would leave it on.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 12
    uroshnoruroshnor Posts: 99member
    lkrupp said:
    So is this for iPhone and Watch owners only or are Android users included? If it’s Apple only will there be claims of anti-competitive collusion between John Hopkins and Apple. I say this only with semi sarcasm because these days Apple seems to be in everybody’s crosshairs. So it wouldn’t surprise me if such a claim was made.
    It’s Apple only at the moment.

    Android does not have a generalised high level framework to do this with - you’d have to code something specific to the NFC implementation on each specific Android device you wanted to support. Not all of them have NFC, so you’d only be able to target some Android vendors anyhow.

    The plus side is that Android vendors don’t impose the control on NFC that Apple does, and you can likely put pretty much anything you like in an NFC subsystem tomorrow.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 12
    doctwelvedoctwelve Posts: 56member
    Maybe Apple needs to bribe the Ivy League universities to get in. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 12
    ankitpatiankitpati Posts: 6member

    It’s Apple only at the moment.

    Hear it from the horse’s mouth: JHU Mobile Credentials.
    watto_cobra
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