What do you think? Is this a sacrifice of convenience doable and worth?
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I’ve been opting out of the face scans ever since they were introduced. The TSA agents are always fine with it and it’s only a few extra seconds for them to check my ID and boarding pass. I would recommend everyone do the same.
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Great, I never thought about opting out as an option.
Don’t they already capture your face with all the cameras at the airports?
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Yes, but there are two reasons to opt out, in my view:
- If the choice is either having my face captured by 9 cameras or 10 cameras, I’d like to choose 9 cameras.
- A framed, face-on photo taken explicitly for biometric purposes and processed by some sort of identifying AI is far more concerning to me than shots of the crowds at an airport that I happen to be in.
From what I remember the TSA ones say they photo is immediately deleted, and TSA is the government anyways so maybe there’s no additional privacy gained skipping those (especially if you have pre-check). I opted out because the placard said I could and I figured there was no downside versus some possible upside.
We all have our own comfort levels. I allow facial scans at customs when I’m re-entering the country, for instance, because it’s way faster than the alternative, and it’s the government so they already have my biometric info via PreCheck / Global Entry. Maybe I’ll eventually submit to the TSA ones too, though I do like the idea of “voting against” it by opting out.
The facial scanners run by airlines at some airport gates, though? I have no idea where and to who those are being sent - some data processing company? I think everyone should opt out of those.
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I’ve tried several times but the TSA people have never allowed me to opt out of this. Luckily I recently found another security area in the airport I normally use that doesn’t have the technology set up yet. Maybe there are some social engineering strategies I haven’t thought of though.
Opting out is TSA wide policy:
Standard ID credential verification is in place – Travelers who decide not to participate in the use of facial recognition technology will receive an alternative ID credential check by the TSO at the podium. The traveler will not experience any negative consequences for choosing not to participate. There is no issue and no delay with a traveler exercising their rights to not participate in the automated biometrics matching technology.
Any agents who don’t let you opt out are not following their employer’s guidance, and you should remind them of such.
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I only worry that they would simply not care, and still not let me through, and I don’t know what my recourse would be in that case.
I was thinking about this yesterday. I guess to be a bit more effective we need to avoid more cameras as possible if there is a concern.
Probably, trying to use a mask that covers mouth and nose, inside the airport, all the time, is recommended.
I’ll try it next time that I travel.
You will be the biggest suspect in the airport and cause unnecessary suspicion or fear.
Ehh, surgical masks are still semi common from Covid over here so if it’s just one person people will just assume they’re still paranoid. So long as they don’t go around acting suspicious or nervous.
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Fair.
This is exactly what I was thinking.
Also, we shouldn’t think that someone is paranoid because is wearing a surgical mask. People may be sick and not trying to spread virus, specially in an airport. This should be very sociable accepted. In fact I believe it is in some eastern countries.
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Huh, I didn’t know they do this. Have I dodged it by wearing a mask or is it something you could possibly not notice?
No it is not. The agent asks you to stand in front of a screen and it clearly takes your photo and compares it to an id you inserted.
Ah okay, I’ve never experienced this even in the largest US airports. Must be the mask, someone just eyeballs it every time.
I know this is a few months old but I know at least in some cases (I’ve mainly seen them in United gates at O’Hare) they’re run at some level by CBP; the sign with legal information about it has the CBP logo, et cetera.
Good luck with that getting into EU zone with the EES implementation but at least EU version seems not an AI scan like TSA one.
Well that purely depends on what you classify as AI. Surely this relies on the same technology.
Either way they keep a copy of the passport data so I do not see really see how it will help to not use it. Also personally I do not really see why this is an issue. I have more issues with longlivity of storing the travel movement data rather than the immigration verficiation itself.
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In the last year going through US airports I was scanned by TSA once. They did not need to see my passport or boarding pass, so they had my image already. Similarly going through the boarding gate, with an airline I had not used before, I just went through, so they also had my photograph.
To answer the OP’s question, generally I think it’s worth it for US citizens entering or leaving the US, because there is officially no penalty and little downside.
However, interesting that TSA officially lets US citizens (but not non-citizens) opt out of entry/exit facial recognition, but some people including @Anvil have been forced to submit to a face scan. Further, some people have less power or more vulnerability than others, and may be uncomfortable opting out. Quoting the author of the article:
Plus, I’m always getting “randomly selected” for additional screenings, maybe because of my Middle Eastern background. So I get nervous about doing anything that might lead to extra delays or interrogations.
I hate my face being scanned, but stepping back a bit, given e-passports contain the holder’s face photo and travelers must present a passport, what tangible privacy gain is achievable by refusing a face scan?
In some other countries, if you don’t submit to facial recognition at the border then you’re going nowhere.
Travelers’ international movement data is being recorded and shared by governments, and that data is kept potentially forever. Avoiding having your face scanned doesn’t prevent this, and in my opinion that’s a bigger violation of privacy.
This is one thing where luckily privacy and health align. It’s smart to wear a mask at airports, not only to avoid your face being recorded by CCTV, people’s phones etc, but also to protect yourself from COVID and other infectious diseases.
Not being watched is always desirable, but there is a risk of attracting unwanted attention by behaving abnormally, especially in hostile zones like airports where CCTV, border agents and security forces are everywhere. What specific concerns about being watched at the airport do you have in mind?
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