Posted on 07/08/2026 3:52:59 AM PDT by DFG
Your next passport photo could be taken in your living room.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to let Americans use their phone or laptop camera to capture passport photos from home instead of visiting CVS, Walgreens, or another photo service.
The State Department says the images would be verified in real time using facial recognition technology, eliminating the need for in-store photo services.
It's the latest move from the Trump administration aimed at making travel more convenient for Americans as they roll out changes tied to the travel experience.
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I'm slightly confused.
I renewed my passport a few months ago. My passport photo WAS taken in my living room. This is not a future plan being proposed. It's already here.
seems ok... I just had to do it creating an account at SSA.gov...
That seems like a bad idea to me.
It's the latest move from the Trump administration aimed at making travel more convenient an inescapable panopticon for Americans as they roll out changes tied to the travel experience.
FTFY
I think they draw the line at mug shots, though.
Funny. I’ve been doing this for the past decade already.
Same here. All done online. Just put your face in the oval.
I did this a few weeks ago when I renewed my expired passport online as I don’t have a Real ID and I needed a federal ID now that I’m retired and don’t have a badge from work anymore. No paperwork or getting a physical picture or a visit to the post office. It predicted a 6-8 week delivery time (unless I had an upcoming trip) but I got the passport in the mail in just under 3 weeks anyway. Apparently AI does the face verification against your previous photo that State has. You can only use this process to renew if you have a current passport or your passport expired less than 10(?) years ago, not for a new one. Apparently the phone cameras are now good enough to provide a reliable passport photo. You have to make sure the background is only white or the transmitted photo will be rejected. If you don’t follow the photo rules, then you’ll have to get a renewal the old way.
good to know.
“Funny. I’ve been doing this for the past decade already.”
My wife and I just did it too for passports. Rubio is late finding this out.
Finally!
All these agencies and departments seem to implement technology and create processes ONLY to serve themselves but never in a way that actually makes things easier and faster for the customer.
How old is this ‘news’. This has been in effect for a while. Last passport renewal in our household was with an in-home passport photo with a cell phone. The only hard part was finding a plain, white background to use. The program’s sizing and verification program for the photo worked fine, and the passport has been in-hand for several months.
Another ‘news’ item that isn’t really news.
Had a client set up ID.Me last week to gain access to her IRS account online to sign a Power of Attorney for me.
They require a self photo be taken with your phone and texted to them as part of the approval process.
They compare the photo to the Real.ID driver’s license photo in the state/national database.
She looked so different in the photo that they would not approve it.
There is a much longer process that I must go through to get approval for my Amish clients as they have no driver’s licenses.
Big brother is watching you.
PS. They will not approve a photo if you have glasses on. Problem is, I can’t see to take the selfie without the glasses.
Can you imagine the turmoil if the DHS compared the national database on everyone to voter registrations and government handout recipients.
The government has a combined database of all driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers, 911 address locations, passport info, TSA travel info, arrest records, immigration records (they paid Peter Thiel millions to create this about 10 years ago), and all IRS tax return info including w-2’s and 1099’s.
“””instead of visiting CVS, Walgreens, or another photo service”””
I renewed my passport a couple of months ago and went to CVS to have them take the photo.
Submitted the CVS photo and other data online.
Passport office rejected the CVS photo because of the yellow background and too many shadows.
So I am pleased that other methods are now available.
Same here - we renewed our passports last year and used my phone camera to take them against the white wall of our garage because the lighting was good - uploaded them to the site and, Voila!.
Rubio seems confused. This is already how it’s done. I did it for my renewal 2 years ago and this summer for my daughter’s first passport.
Meaning they already know what you look like.
Is this really smart? Sounds like a recipe for fraud. We should be going in the opposite direction and requiring pictures that are 100% verified and stamped in a way that cannot be replicated or altered.
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