• 2 min read
Google Wallet tests age checks and pass updates
Google Wallet is testing an Updates feed for passes and a Proof of Age tool that could verify age online without sharing IDs.
Image: Android Authority
Google Wallet is testing two new features
Google appears to be working on two additions to Google Wallet: an Updates section for passes and a Proof of Age tool for age verification online.
The details come from an APK teardown by Android Authority, which found the features in Google Wallet version 26.27.941270914. Neither feature has rolled out to users yet.
A new Updates section for passes
According to the report, Google is testing an “Updates” section that would notify users about passes or other entries automatically extracted from Gmail. The feature will likely live behind the bell-shaped icon in the top-right corner of the Wallet app.
Right now, tapping that icon reveals a monthly summary of all passes imported from Gmail. But Android Authority says the section may do more than that.
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Google already lets developers send users information about:
- promotions
- news
- changes or updates to saved passes
Those alerts could also surface in the new Updates area. The report says this work appears alongside another in-progress feature to import all receipts from Gmail automatically.
Proof of Age without sharing an ID
The second feature is more notable. Android Authority says Google is also testing “Proof of Age,” a tool designed to let users verify their age without sharing personal information or IDs.
That would give Wallet a way to confirm how old a user is while exposing less data, a potentially useful option as age-verification mandates expand across digital platforms in different countries.
For now, though, the feature does not appear functional. In Android Authority’s testing, it opens a blank page, so there is not yet a working preview of how the experience will look.
Still a work in progress
Android Authority frames both discoveries as unreleased features pulled from code, which means there is no guarantee either one will ship publicly.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Even so, the direction is clear: Google Wallet is expanding beyond payments and stored passes into lighter account and identity tools, with age verification without exposing IDs standing out as the sharper signal.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
