The $45 REAL ID Panic TO PROVE YOU’RE YOU
How Everyone Pretended Privacy Still Exists
I was standing at Harry Reid last week, watching a guy absolutely unravel.
Phone in one hand. Used paper Boarding Pass in the other.
Volume at full therapist-disrupting level.
“They’re making us use virtual IDs now. They’re charging to verify your identity. It’s a scam. This is how it starts.”
Three minutes later, he unlocked his phone with his face, ordered Starbucks with Apple Pay, and summoned a Lyft that knew exactly where he was standing.
We are a fascinating species.
Now the socials seem to be buzzing with the same fears, and although not only tied to Vegas, I would hate the fear mongering from those “influencers” to keep you from having the great time you deserve, soooo…. Here’s the truth!
The Part Everyone Skipped While Panicking
REAL ID is not new, and it is certainly no secret. In fact, Congress passed it in 2005, right after 9/11.
Since then, it’s been delayed, kicked, screamed at, and politically hot-potatoed for twenty years. This is just another example of our tax dollars being spent to pay people who are supposedly working for us, who don’t do shit!
As of May 7, 2025, the warnings ran out.
If you want to fly domestically as an adult, you now need:
– A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license
– Or a passport
– Or another federally accepted ID
No star? No shortcut.
And starting February 1, 2026, if you still show up unprepared, the TSA will offer a backup:
Pay $45 to verify your identity through their Confirm.ID system.
Not a new tax.
Not a subscription.
Not mandatory.
A convenience fee for ignoring two decades of reminders that people need to be verified in saying they are who they say they are, or at least put in the work to appear that way…
The $45 That Broke the Internet
This is where the internet snapped.
People started screaming “extortion,” “scam,” “digital tracking,” and my personal favorite:
“They’re selling your identity to the cloud.”
Let’s get something straight:
The TSA is not learning anything new about you.
They are just verifying:
Your name.
Your birthday.
Your address.
Your documents.
The same information that already lives in:
– DMV databases
– Credit bureaus
– Airlines
– Banks
– Employers
– And every app that’s ever asked you for a selfie and a card number
If you’ve ever used: DoorDash, Uber, Lyft, an airline app, Apple Pay, Klarna, or a casino rewards program…
Congratulations.
You already gave away more data for tacos than the TSA is asking to validate.
The iPhone Privacy Paradox
This is the part that makes my head hurt.
People will scream:
“I don’t trust the government with my data.”
From a phone that:
– Uses biometric encryption
– Locks keys inside Apple’s secure enclave
– Encrypts messages end-to-end
– Tokenizes payments
– And isolates apps from each other by design
Meanwhile, those same people upload:
– Driver’s licenses
– Insurance cards
– Selfies
– Social Security numbers
– Banking info
Directly into ride-share and delivery apps without a second thought.
Apple spends billions protecting your data. In fact, they are among the few who have given a middle finger to governments, including the United States, when asked to release private information.
DoorDash just wants to know where to drop the burrito, and usually screws that up.
The government assigns you identity data with a social security number.
And somehow the TSA is the villain?
Let’s Talk About “Virtual ID” Like Adults
Everyone keeps whispering “virtual ID” like it’s some Black Mirror conspiracy.
Meanwhile:
Vegas casinos have been using facial recognition for years.
Airports already scan your face at gates.
Stadiums use it.
Retail stores use it.
Traffic systems use it.
You cannot physically walk through Las Vegas without being seen by multiple biometric systems before lunch, and when you check in, BAM!!! You’re now in the system with your ID and credit card information on file, and if you’re a guest, I’ll bet you head right over to the players club to willingly give the data up for free parking, or a buffet comp, and if you get a handpay, that slot attendant is going to damn near ask for blood.
But a digital ID is where we draw the freedom line?
You already carry a tracking device with a monthly data plan.
It buzzes in your pocket, and the government can track you through any cell phone carrier. People are fine with this, but uploading their private data that lives on their private device, verified by the agency issuing it is an issue?
“But The TSA Is Useless Anyway”
Also true.
The TSA has:
– Missed weapons in internal audits
– Perfected the art of confiscating shampoo
– And become legends for discovering items that vibrate in suitcases. (pack those in the checked bags peeps) Nothing funnier than a vibrating dildo in a TSA line, or maybe don’t check it. I love a great laugh and won’t make fun of you.
I have personally gotten more physical action from a TSA agent in Vegas than at a High School dance, and I’m vetted not only with a Real ID, but a security and handgun license as well. So I can legally go almost anywhere, concealing a handgun, but if I’m wearing boxers, I get a free “bag check” pat down from TSA
Security theater? Absolutely.
But confirming that the person boarding a plane is actually the person on the ticket is not dystopian oppression.
It’s literally the lowest possible bar for transportation safety.
And no, you are not “buying access” with $45.
You are paying for:
– Extra staff time
– Manual database checks
– Secondary verification
Because you didn’t follow the primary rule, but this information is appearing to be less than what you gave the guy named BOB (working at the outsourced agency in India whose parents did not name him that) when you tried to get that cheaper insurance quote.
The Temporary Worker Out of the Trunk Test
Here’s the simplest analogy I can give you.
The TSA identity fallback process is the same kind of verification used when:
– Someone loses their wallet
– A temporary worker shows up with no badge
– Or a guy claims he’s cleared to be somewhere “because trust me, bro”
Records get checked. Data gets matched and their identity is confirmed. This is not futuristic; it’s just more boring bureaucracy.
We’ve Panicked Like This Before
Working a good amount of time in tech, I’ve seen it all up close and laughed every single time.
People once said:
Online banking would destroy savings.
The cloud would lose everything.
Tap-to-pay wasn’t real money.
Smartphones were government microphones. (This one could be true for some)
Now try living one day without:
Mobile banking.
Digital wallets.
Cloud photos.
Two-factor verification.
Here is what society does… We panic, then we adapt, and we pretend we never panicked. This cycle continues with every generation and with every new technology.
The Uncomped Truth
If you travel:
Get a REAL ID.
Or carry a passport.
If you don’t, you get to pay the $45 and bitch about how it isn’t fair, even though you have had 20 years of warning to figure it out. Just be mad at yourself as you rush to your socials to voice how it’s not your fault, or that it doesn’t do anything, but yet you give the same info to show who you are and that you are old enough to vote, drink, drive, etc…. (maybe not if you are in California)
This is not digital enslavement.
This is not travel oppression.
This is not the end of freedom of movement.
This is just America enforcing a rule it warned you about for twenty years.
And honestly?
If this prevents even one person from trying to board with:
– A blurry photo of their ID
– A Costco card
– A prescription bottle that they stole because they are a junkie
It may, for the first time in modern history, accidentally improve airport efficiency.
What’s even funnier is it’s said that 94% of people already have a Real ID, so there’s an awful lot of bitching from that 6%…..
I would much rather have the minimum of checks to know who is next to me on an airplane, because by now, if you do not have a real ID or a valid passport, there’s a 99% chance that the reason is probably not good, or you have purposely avoided it.
-Jason
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