Can a passport or an ID be read without consent?
Not in the way the question imagines. The chip in a modern identity document will not respond usefully until the reader demonstrates it has access to information printed inside, which requires the document to be open in front of it rather than closed in a bag.
The gate on the chip
An identity document with a chip does not behave like a tag on a shelf. It will not release its contents to a reader that simply asks.
Access is conditioned on the reader demonstrating that it has the document physically present and open, by using information printed on the page itself.
The mechanisms themselves are specified in Part 11 of ICAO Doc 9303, Security Mechanisms for MRTDs. Which document implements which, and how that differs by issuing country, belongs to the issuing authority.
The principle is what matters at this level, and the principle is deliberate: possession of the physical document, opened, is a precondition.
What that rules out
The scenario in which somebody walks past a bag and comes away with the contents of a passport. The chip has nothing to say to a reader that cannot show it has seen the page.
It also rules out the version where a reader hidden in a doorway harvests documents from pockets, for the same reason and additionally because of the distance limit that applies to everything in this field.
These are the two scenarios that circulate, and both fail at the first step rather than at the last.
What remains true
A document handed to somebody, opened, is a document they can read completely. Handing over a passport at a desk is exactly the condition the chip is waiting for.
Detecting that a document is present, without reading it, is a different and easier operation than reading it, and the distinction matters when evaluating claims about tracking.
And the printed page remains readable by eye and by camera, which is a far more practical route to the same information and receives far less attention.
Practical conclusions
A protective sleeve addresses the detection question rather than the reading question, since reading was already gated.
The exposure that matters happens when the document is handed over, photographed or copied, all of which are ordinary paper problems.
Applications that read your own document exist and are legitimate, and they work precisely because you are holding it open in front of your own phone.
If a claim about remote reading of identity documents is put to you, the question to ask is how the reader obtained access to the printed page.
Frequently asked questions
Can my passport be read in my bag?
Not usefully. The chip requires the reader to demonstrate access to information printed inside, which needs the document open.
Do protective sleeves help?
They address whether the presence of a document can be detected. Reading the contents was already gated by the printed page.
Why can my own phone read my passport then?
Because you are holding it open in front of the phone, which is exactly the condition the chip requires.
Is the printed page a bigger exposure?
In practice yes. A photograph of the page gives the same information with no chip involved.