Starting tomorrow in the US - you can fly without Real ID but it won't be easy.

damn, they actually did it. was hoping they'd push the deadline back again like the other dozen times. what a perfect timing too with the administrative state being completely hollowed out so getting new IDs will be an incredible pain in the ass.

⁠O'er the land of the free and the home of Real ID
- land of the fee

I’ll be honest I still don’t know what a realID is aside from the fact that my drivers license is one
- post 9/11 there was a push to standardize all state IDs (including driver licenses, which is the form of ID most Americans carry) into a uniform standard developed by the feds.
  there was enough pushback within certain states from the crank demographic that this was a federal government / mark of the beast conspiracy that many states began to resist it by refusing to comply and conform for years. it was a way to excite the base to grandstand against the federal ID.
  eventually, the holdout states were told that their state IDs would not be compliant and could not be used for boarding planes. the workaround would be to maintain a passport, which does work as kind of a universal ID within the US. so this has never affected wealthier citizens in resistant states, who of course have all the right travel documents.
  resistant states did ultimately offer compliant state IDs, but they cost extra and, at least at first, required applicants to travel to just one or two cities in the state to apply for one. completely unreasonable and onerous.
  anyway, it's hilarious that it is still so cocked up. this is how deeply antagonistic states in the US can be towards working with each other in terms of paperwork. which, considering how deeply evil some states are towards their residents and they ways they prefer to abuse them, is par for the course.
- Like, what different types of documentation are people using to get their ID that gives them the non realID version?
  Like, when I got my license I showed my birth certificate and a bank statement. Obviously not everyone has a birth certificate, but what is it that you give them to get a drivers license that’s not realID?
  Not trying to be a dick genuinely curious about the procedure
- RealID has documentation requirements that amount to that needed for a passport so they can do fed things with it. And in typical American fashion, they charge you $50+ for the privilege and still don't even give you a passport, just a new driver's license.

Awhile ago I was just going to give in and get one, but they make you go to some 3rd party, private company website to put in all your information. That's honestly the sticking point for me. I absolutely do not trust that entity yo secure my data, and I guarantee it's only a matter of time before they get hacked. Fortunately I have a passport.
- My state has had real IDs for over ten years now. I’m not sure why others have such weird ways to get them, I didn’t have to put my info into any third party database
  
  Last I tried was in CA. Maybe it's different here in VA where I recently moved. Haven't checked yet.

I'm not from the US, but do they even look at IDs enough to be able to tell the difference between real 'real IDs' and fake 'real IDs'?
- Been rolling out lately that they just scan your ID instead of your boarding pass at security to determine whether you can go through the gate.
  No, you don't have to include that info when buying a plane ticket, they just know who you are. It's a little bit terrifying!
  
  I'm happy my country has no need for passport or ID when boarding domestic. Just the ticket.