WeWork wants to have people access buildings using Apple Wallet Office Keys

What you need to know

WeWork appears to be working on adding Apple Wallet support to allow people to use an iOS 15 feature to unlock offices.
The iOS 15 Office Key feature would allow doors to be unlocked even when a device is powered off.
There is no timeline for when any of this will be available.

WeWork already has code in its app that suggests Apple Wallet support is coming.

WeWork is planning to allow people to access its buildings and offices using their iPhone or Apple Watch, according to a new report. The outfit is thought to be working on Apple Wallet Office Key support that would allow entry to be gained via a tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The news comes after MacRumors reportedly found references in the WeWork app’s code. One example is text that reads “add to wallet button tapped,” something that would suggest that WeWork plans to use the Office Key feature that was introduced as part of iOS 15.

The code that we located reads “add to wallet button tapped,” suggesting that a future version of the WeWork app is going to integrate with Apple Wallet using the Office Key feature. Office Key support would allow users to use their Apple Watch to gain access to WeWork locations, and it would not require users to have the “Background Location” permission turned on for the WeWork app.

While it does appear that WeWork is planning new device-based access, there is no timeline for when that would be a feature rolled out to users and offices. As MacRumors notes, the Office Key feature is already being used by some businesses with employees able to add their passes to the Wallet app on their own devices.

Such Office Key passes would work even when the iPhone or iPad is powered off and the feature could prove to be one of the best Apple Watch additions in some time. The feature could be similar to Apple Pay Express Transit in the way it has the potential to transform how people behave.