Technologies

How to put your COVID-19 vaccine card on your smartphone

Your COVID-19 vaccination card is now required for many businesses and events. Learn how to put it on your phone so that it’s always available.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

As the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus surges through the US, many states are requiring proof of vaccination for adults and kids as young as 5 to enter restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and just about any other public venue.

And if you’re traveling for the holidays, having your vaccine record close at hand is more important than ever. But you don’t have to keep the printed version in your wallet or purse: To prevent damage or loss, we recommend storing it in your phone instead.

Not sure how? We’ll show you ways you can store your vaccine card digitally — including the methods to use if you have an Android or iPhone — and help you find out whether or not your state has a specific app.

Which states are using vaccination record apps?

While some governors have signed orders banning so-called vaccine passports, many states have apps that allow residents to keep a digital version of their vaccine cards on their smartphones. Eleven — including California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York and Louisiana — offer SMART Health Cards that store vaccination records and COVID-19 test results.

Colorado residents, for example, can download the myColorado app: After you create an account, verify your identity and add a digital version of your driver’s license to your phone, you can then add your myVaccine record to the app. Louisiana’s LA Wallet app takes a similar approach, allowing you to add your driver’s license and proof of vaccination to your phone.

California requires residents to fill out a form to verify their identity, after which they’ll receive a text or email with a link to a QR code that can be saved to their phone. When scanned, the code will offer proof of vaccination. The link will also include a digital copy of your vaccination record.

Illinois residents can use VaxVerify, which uses Experian for identity verification.

MyIR Mobile is used by several health departments, including Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Dakota, Washington state, West Virginia and Washington, DC.

Delaware, New Mexico and Michigan are also using web portals to let residents access their vaccination status online.

New Yorkers have two app options: The Excelsior Pass app and NYC Covid Safe.

We’ll continue to update this feature as more states offer apps and features to store your COVID-19 vaccine card online. And keep in mind if you get a booster dose, you’ll need to re-upload your vaccine card.

What if my state doesn’t have an app that lets me store my card?

If your state doesn’t have an iPhone or Android app that lets you store a copy of your vaccination record, there are other ways to keep it on your phone. What qualifies as valid proof, however, can vary by state, city, county or even business.

Some places may accept a photo of your physical vaccination card: For example, concert producer AEG Presents accepts a «physical copy of a COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card, a digital copy of such card or such other proof as is permitted locally.» But you definitely want to research first if your city, county or state does the same.

Along with public school mandates, hundreds of private colleges are also requiring students and employees to be vaccinated: Seattle University, which requires students to be vaccinated to attend in-person classes, offers an online form to upload photos of the front and back of your vaccination card.

When in doubt, look for information on the business’s website or call the local health department and ask for clarification. This is bound to save you time and the risk of being turned away at the door.

Can I store my car with Google Pay or Apple Wallet?

If you have an iPhone ($350 at Amazon), you can store your COVID-19 vaccination card on your Apple Wallet to present whenever you need to show you’re fully vaccinated. (You can keep a copy in the Health app, too.) The WatchOS 8.1 update allows you to keep your card handy on your Apple Watch.

If you have an Android, you can add your vaccine card to the Google Pay app and even add a shortcut icon to your home screen to find it quickly.

Samsung Pay can also store your vaccine record

Samsung now gives Galaxy phone owners the option to add proof of vaccination to Samsung Pay. You’ll need to download the CommonHealth app (Samsung’s partner) from the Google Play Store and follow the prompts in the app to verify your vaccination status.

Once the app confirms you’veindeed gotten the jabs, you’ll be prompted to download a Smart HealthCard to Samsung Pay which you can show to anyone requesting you show proof of vaccination. It beats having to fiddle around with photo albums and tapping through multiple screens before you’re able to show it to a bouncer or maître d’.

Will a picture of my vaccine card work?

The simplest way to have a digital record of your vaccine status is to snap a photograph of your vaccination card and keep it on your phone. Even the CDC recommends keeping a picture of your card as a backup copy.

You can make the photo a favorite to quickly locate it or store it in a notes app, a folder or somewhere easy to remember. Make sure you’re in a well-lit area and get close enough to the card that the dates and other details are legible. Put the card on a dark surface and try to eliminate shadows from your arms or the phone itself.

Here’s one way iPhone users can save their vaccination card as a new photo album: Open the Photos app, select the Albums tab and then tap the plus (+) sign in the top-left corner followed by New Album. Give the album a name and then tap Save. Next, select the photos of your card to add them to the album.

On an Android, it depends on which app you’re using, but the process should generally be the same. If you’re using the Google Photos app, open the app and then select the picture of your vaccination card. Tap the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner, followed by the Add to Album button. Select +New album and give it a name such as «Vaccination Card» and tap the checkmark button when you’re done.

What else can I use?

I’ve had a large number of readers reach out to me about this article, each one offering advice and guidance about storing a proof of vaccination card.

Some suggestions include well-known airport security service Clear. In fact, some concert and exhibition halls require that attendees use Clear to verify their vaccination status to attend a show. You can go to clearme.com/healthpass to download the app and get your card added.

VaxYes is another service that verifies your vaccination status and then adds your vaccination card to your Apple Wallet. I’ve read that you can add your card to the Google Pay app, but after signing up and going through the process myself, I don’t see the option on a Pixel 5 running Android 12.

If your local municipality or employer used the CDC’s Vaccine Administration Management System, then you can use the VAMS website to access your vaccination records. I had more than one reader reach out to me about using this system to show proof of vaccination, but without an account myself, I’m unable to go through the process of accessing a vaccination record.

Another suggestion I received from multiple readers is to use a scanner app on your phone and store a scanned copy of your vaccination card in something like your OneDrive personal vault or a password manager (almost all of them offer some sort of secure file storage) instead of storing the photo in Google Photos or Apple’s iCloud photos. On an iPhone, you can use the scanner that’s built into the Notes app. On Android, Google’s Stack PDF scanner will be enough to get the job done.

This story will be updated as the national vaccine conversation continues. For more information about the booster shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, make sure to read this primer.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Need Gift Ideas? Google’s Holiday 100 Shopping List Includes Switch 2, Home Movie Projectors

You can shell out hundreds for a new gaming console or spend less on classic games and backpack charms.

The spooky season has just ended, and Google is already turning its attention to holiday shopping. The search giant just released its annual list of 100 top holiday gift ideas based on the hottest trends of 2025.

The Google Holiday 100 list is an annual shopping guide compiled from searches for various products conducted between May and September. Using that data, Google creates a catalog of the year’s top trending gift ideas across various industries, including tech, toys, fashion and wellness. You can view the entire Google Holiday 100 list here.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Nintendo Switch 2

This year’s breakaway technology hit was the Switch 2, Nintendo’s latest family-friendly video games console. Unsurprisingly, it appears on 2025’s Holiday 100 list. The console was released in June and has sold more than 10 million units thus far, with Nintendo hiking up sales expectations even among uncertain economic conditions and tariff pricing.

Google Pixel Watch 4

The Google Pixel Watch 4 is a standout wearable that made the Holiday 100 list. Its inclusion isn’t just Google stuffing its own product into a list. If you’re buying a gift for fitness-focused folks, CNET’s Vanessa Hand Orellana wrote that the latest iteration of Google’s smartwatch «hits a sweet spot between universally appealing design, seamless compatibility with the Android ecosystem, potentially life-saving safety features and robust health and fitness tracking.»

Red-light face masks

Your algorithm may have served you up a boatload of red light therapy content from health and beauty influencers this year. Search volume for red light masks has spiked in the past few months, so the LED masks have been included in the Holiday 100 buying guide this year. Just make sure to purchase one of the best FDA-approved masks.

Movie projectors to backpack charms

If you’re looking for gifts across other categories, Google has some top 2025 searches for big and small. Home theaters are apparently in this year, as searches for movie projectors spiked by a whopping 945%. Searches for backpack charms also hit an all-time high this year, so those are a safe bet for stocking stuffing for any young kids.

Checkers (the actual board game)

Even though many gifts given out at Christmas this year will surely be high-tech gadgets and accessories, the board game of checkers is also on the list. There’s always room for the classics.

As you prepare for the Herculean task of yearly holiday shopping, Google’s Holiday 100 is a good place to start. But if you’re looking to beat the crowd on the best tech deals around, CNET is already collecting pre-Black Friday deals.

Technologies

Look Up Tonight to Spot November’s Supermoon, the Brightest Moon of 2025

Has the moon been looking brighter and bigger to you for the past few days? Here’s why this month’s supermoon is even more super.

It’s already a great month for skygazers, with a trio of meteor showers and the return of the northern hemisphere winter constellations. On Tuesday night, it also features the second of four supermoons in a row. This month’s supermoon will happen on Nov. 4-5, and November’s beaver moon is special because it’ll be the brightest full moon of 2025.

In addition to being a supermoon, November’s full moon is known as the beaver moon. There is some debate as to why it was named this way. Some believe that this was the best time of year in the old days to set beaver traps to get pelts for winter clothing. Others believe that it coincides with the busiest part of the year for beavers, who are now stocking their lodges with supplies for the upcoming winter.

Here’s what time it’ll look its biggest and brightest, and what else you need to know about the November supermoon.

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The brightest supermoon: When’s the best time to see it?

The moon will reach peak illumination at 8:19 a.m. ET on Nov. 5, making the evening of Nov. 4 and the morning of Nov. 5 the best times to view the moon.

Since moon phases shift slowly, the moon will appear almost full for nearly a week. If you are unable to view the full moon on its best night due to weather or other reasons, you can still see a mostly full moon at any point from Nov. 3 to Nov. 8.

For all of those days, the moon will be measurably brighter in the night sky compared to any other full moon in 2025. The reason for this is because of the moon’s elliptical orbit. Since it’s not a perfect circle, the moon’s 27.3-day journey around the Earth brings it closer to us on some days, a phenomenon known as perigee. If there is a full moon during this time, it’s branded as a «perigean full moon,» which you may know better as a supermoon.

Not all supermoons are equal, and November’s will be a little more special than others. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, the beaver moon will be a scant 221,817 miles away from Earth, making it the closest full moon of the year. That means it’ll be the biggest and brightest of the year.

In practice, the differences are fairly minor and likely won’t be visible to the naked eye when compared side by side to other supermoons. A supermoon is only about 7% larger than a regular full moon. According to NASA, the biggest difference is when comparing a supermoon to a micromoon, where a supermoon will be about 14% larger and 30% brighter. So, if you notice that your backyard patio is lit up more than usual, it’s because of the supermoon.

Also due to the moon’s orbit, November will also bring a micro new moon, which means the moon will be as far away from the Earth as it can get — a phenomenon known as apogee. November’s new moon occurs on Nov. 20, but you won’t be able to see it.

Technologies

Stay Informed About Your Flights This Holiday Season With Your iPhone’s Tracker

Your iPhone is hiding a flight tracker. Here’s how it works.

Thanksgiving is only a few short weeks away and if you plan on flying during the holiday season, keeping up-to-date on changes to your flights is crucial. Airports can be hectic during any holiday, but with the government shutdown continuing, flights are liable to change or be cancelled more often.

Luckily, it’s never been easier to get up-to-date information about your flight. For starters, your airline probably has an app, and if not, you can check its website. If you’re in a hurry, you can Google the flight number. Or you can just use your iPhone’s built-in flight tracker that’s sneakily tucked away.

That’s right: Your iPhone has a flight tracker that you may have never known about. It’s there for when it’s needed. Below, we’ll show you have to access it in not one, but two places, so you never have to go hunting for your flight info elsewhere again.

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For more on the iPhone, check out everything Apple announced at WWDC 2025.

How to track your flight via iMessage

Before we start, there are a few prerequisites you must meet:

Make sure iMessage is enabled (it doesn’t work with SMS/MMS).
You’ll need your flight number somewhere in your text messages, whether you’ve sent that information to someone (even yourself) or it’s been sent to you.
The flight number must be sent in this format: [Airline] [Flight number], for example, American Airlines 9707.

Launch the native Messages app on your iPhone and open the text message thread that contains your flight information. You’ll know the flight tracker feature works when the text with the flight information appears underlined, which means it’s actionable and you can tap on it.

If your flight is still several months away or it’s already passed, you might see a message that says, «Flight information unavailable.» You might also see another flight that’s not yours because airlines recycle flight numbers.

You can check your flight status from Spotlight Search, too

If getting your flight information from Messages wasn’t easy enough, you can also grab the details right from your iPhone’s home screen by swiping down and adding your flight number into Spotlight Search. Even better, this works with Spotlight Search on your Mac computer, too.

How to access the hidden flight tracker

Although the airline name/flight number format highlighted above is the best way to go, there are other texting options that will lead you to the same result. So let’s say we stick with American Airlines 9707, other options that may bring up the flight tracker include:

AmericanAirlines9707 (no spaces)
AmericanAirlines 9707 (only one space)
AA9707 (airline name is abbreviated and no space)
AA 9707 (abbreviated and space)

I would suggest you keep the airline name spelled out completely and add a space between the two pieces of information — like in the previous section — because for some airlines, these alternative options may not work.

Real-time flight tracking

Once everything is set, tap on the flight information in your text messages. If the feature works correctly, you should see the following two options appear in a quick-action menu:

Preview Flight: View the flight’s details. Tap this to view more information about the flight.
Copy Flight Code: Copy the flight code to your clipboard (in case you want to send your flight details to someone else via text or email).

If you select Preview Flight, at the top of the window, you’ll see the best part of this feature: a real-time flight tracker map. A line will connect the two destinations, and a tiny airplane will move between them, indicating where the flight is at that exact moment.

Underneath the map, you’ll see important flight information: