The distinction is nonsensical to me from a privacy standpoint. Your passport includes a picture of your face, anyone scanning your passport looks at that pict

The distinction is nonsensical to me from a privacy standpoint. Your passport includes a picture of your face, anyone scanning your passport looks at that picture and your face to verify the passport is "you". I'm sure whatever is recorded by either process is essentially the same: a person with your face was in a particular place at a particular time.