California residents can sideload their vaccine record into the Apple Wallet app

Written by

David Becker, Appleosophy:

If you’re a California resident, you now have an easy way to put your vaccine record into the Wallet app on your iPhone.

Here’s the process:

According to the web page:

This tool operates entirely on your device— your health information is never transmitted to any server.

Details from the SMART Health QR Code are cryptographically verified by the California Department of Public Health to prevent forgery.

Most importantly:

This tool is not affiliated with Apple nor the California Department of Public Health nor the US Centers for Disease Control.

That last gives me pause, mostly about privacy. Can I trust that this app truly keeps my info on my iPhone, that it doesn’t somehow harvest my vaccine info?

Would love to have a comment from Apple on this, or have an official “add vaccine card to Wallet” mechanism added to Wallet.

And here’s the answer, courtesy Mark Malone:

Adding these verified records into the Health app in the iOS 15 beta is as easy as pointing the Camera app at the QR code then tapping the add to Health button.

My vaccine card does not have such a QR code, so this is specific to California. Not sure the headline linked app is bad in any way, but why go there if you can just use your camera?

And John Buck shared this official set of Add your vaccine card to Apple Wallet instructions from the Australian Government.