A wallet pass is the same kind of object as a boarding pass or a concert ticket on a phone. It lives in Apple Wallet on iPhone or Google Wallet on Android - apps that come pre-installed on virtually every modern phone.
If you've ever added a boarding pass and watched the gate change update by itself, you already understand how a PocketPass pass behaves.
Why there's no app to install
This is the whole reason wallet passes work, so it's worth being explicit.
Asking someone to install an app means an app store, a download, an account and a password. Most people don't finish that journey - and the ones who do often delete the app a week later.
Adding a wallet pass is one tap on a link, from a page they were already looking at. The wallet is already installed, already trusted, and already on their home screen. So a much higher proportion of people actually end up holding your pass.
There's also nothing for you to build. No app, no app store review, no release cycle.
What every pass carries
- The fields you defined on the template - names, dates, numbers, whatever you chose.
- Your logo and colours.
- Optionally a barcode for scanning.
- A back with your longer text - terms, contact details, instructions.
- A message history, as you send notifications.
See Fields and regions for how you decide what goes where.
Apple and Google: the differences that matter
You don't choose between them. Every pass you issue works on both, and the customer's phone uses whichever wallet it has. But the two present passes differently, and three differences affect how you design.
| Apple Wallet | Google Wallet | |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Follows your regions closely - header, central, details, and a separate back | One general layout; details and back are merged into a single list |
| Colours | Background, text and label colours all applied | Background colour only |
| Lock-screen message on arrival | Supported | Not supported |
| Live updates | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode | Yes | Yes |
The three practical takeaways:
- The back of the pass isn't hidden on Google. Don't put anything there you wouldn't show on the front.
- Your background colour has to carry the design on Google, because your text and label colours aren't applied there.
- Location messages are an Apple-only feature. Useful, but never your only route to someone at a venue.
Everything else behaves the same way on both.
Use the Apple/Google toggle in the template preview constantly while designing. It mirrors this behaviour exactly, so you can see both without owning both phones.
What happens after someone adds a pass
The pass stays connected to you. That's what separates it from a PDF or an email.
- You change it, and it changes on their phone. No re-send, no re-download, nothing for them to do. See Live pass updates.
- You can message them. A notification appears on the lock screen and is recorded on the back of the pass. See Sending a notification.
- You find out when it's installed or removed, so your own systems can react. See Webhooks.
Common questions
Does it cost the customer anything? No. Holding wallet passes is free.
What if they have an older phone? Apple Wallet has been built into iPhones for many years, and Google Wallet covers modern Android devices. The overwhelming majority of customers can add a pass with no setup.
Can someone hold several of your passes? Yes. They sit alongside each other in the wallet.
Can they share a pass? They can share the install link, and whoever opens it gets their own copy of that same pass. If a pass should belong to exactly one person, don't rely on the link staying private - use a barcode your own system validates.