Google Wallet may lift syncing restrictions for certain types of passes

Google Wallet supports a document type Google calls generic private passes. As opposed to other pass types — store loyalty cards or concert tickets, for example — private passes come with extra security features meant to help keep critical information attached to documents like government IDs or health insurance cards private. One of those security features is that private passes can only exist on a single device at one time, but it looks like that could be changing.

Experimenting with the latest version of Google Play services, we spotted code that indicates Google Wallet might soon incorporate features that will allow users to transfer private passes between devices, or even sync them between multiple concurrent devices.

A few flags found in code for version 25.45.33 of Google Play services point to this in-progress private pass sharing functionality:

As of now, signing into Google Wallet on a new device will sync some passes, such as boarding passes and store gift cards. Private passes don’t automatically populate on new devices, meaning that if you were using Wallet to store an insurance card or a driver’s license and get a new phone, you have to manually add those documents to Wallet again to use them on the new device.

Once this change takes effect, it looks like you’ll have the choice to manually move private passes from one device to another, or to have Wallet automatically sync your private passes to Wallet on any device you’re signed into. Presumably, other security features (like having to scan your fingerprint or enter your PIN to view private pass documents) will be unchanged.

We weren’t able to get these private pass sync features working, and we aren’t sure how far into development they are at the moment. It could be a while until we see private pass syncing in Google Wallet in the wild.