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I had a perfectly pleasant experience opting out. The agent simply smiled at me, asked a question to verify that I was the person on the ID I had handed him, an

I had a perfectly pleasant experience opting out. The agent simply smiled at me, asked a question to verify that I was the person on the ID I had handed him, and off I went. It was much easier and less gropey than opting out of the mm wave scans.

monksy 2y ago
I've had the same experience with the opt out in the pre-check line.
bentley 2y ago
I too find the domestic TSA photo opt‐out to be quite painless. I recommend simply saying “I’d like to opt out of the photo” as soon as you walk to the platform, because saying so as soon as possible minimizes the chance of holding up the line and irritating the agent. The only observable difference in processing is that the agent takes my ID, holds it up, and compares it to my face. CBP is another matter. When returning from abroad I find their agents to be more aggressive or snarky when I (politely) opt out, although I wouldn’t say it’s gone as far as retaliation. I often get asked why I’m opting out, and sometimes they follow that with additional questions. Several times I’ve received a standard spiel explaining that the photo is not stored permanently or transmitted; the vibe I get is that they’re trained to respond this way to “kooks.”
- JoshTriplett 2y ago
  9 times out of 10 I've found opting out of the body scanners to be painless. 1 time out of 10 I get a bully who wants to make a scene in order to create social pressure to justify opting out. I always have to suppress the counterproductive and escalatory urge to say something along the lines of "this pointless conversation will be shorter if we skip ahead to where I reiterate that I'm still opting out".
- KAMSPioneer 2y ago
  Can confirm that CBP is worse about this. I once had an agent insist that it was not possible to opt out, because the scan was mandatory. I pointed out that I had walked past no less than four signs proclaiming the opposite (if you are a US citizen) on my way through the line. _He_ then held up the line as he walked off, consulted with someone who obviously knew better, came back and pouted while he verified my identity "manually."
rty32 2y ago
My comment was based on previous discussions like this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41052152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41052152 It is possible that people's experience vary. But unless we know opt out is something that is done quickly as a routine, and running into clueless TSA agent is a rare exception, I would not try that.
- haswell 2y ago
  Most online discussion boils down to: - A few people report they’ve had issues opting out - Most people report they have no issues at all Personally, I’d feel like I’m perpetuating the problem (of privacy violation/overreach) by not opting out. Even if most people don’t care, it seems critical to have at least some portion of the population holding back the tide somewhat. If nothing else, a consistent stream of people opting out helps us understand how big the problem has become, i.e. if discussions about this flip over time and most people are getting hassled.
petre 2y ago
In Europe you might end up on the long queue with the non EU residents fighting about their place in the row if you opt not to go through biometrics check or you've got a non biometric ID. Some of the machines are also badly designed because 6'4" tall people have to bend their knees so that the scanner can level to their face.

monksy 2y ago

I've had the same experience with the opt out in the pre-check line.

bentley 2y ago

I too find the domestic TSA photo opt‐out to be quite painless. I recommend simply saying “I’d like to opt out of the photo” as soon as you walk to the platform, because saying so as soon as possible minimizes the chance of holding up the line and irritating the agent. The only observable difference in processing is that the agent takes my ID, holds it up, and compares it to my face. CBP is another matter. When returning from abroad I find their agents to be more aggressive or snarky when I (politely) opt out, although I wouldn’t say it’s gone as far as retaliation. I often get asked why I’m opting out, and sometimes they follow that with additional questions. Several times I’ve received a standard spiel explaining that the photo is not stored permanently or transmitted; the vibe I get is that they’re trained to respond this way to “kooks.”

JoshTriplett 2y ago
9 times out of 10 I've found opting out of the body scanners to be painless. 1 time out of 10 I get a bully who wants to make a scene in order to create social pressure to justify opting out. I always have to suppress the counterproductive and escalatory urge to say something along the lines of "this pointless conversation will be shorter if we skip ahead to where I reiterate that I'm still opting out".
KAMSPioneer 2y ago
Can confirm that CBP is worse about this. I once had an agent insist that it was not possible to opt out, because the scan was mandatory. I pointed out that I had walked past no less than four signs proclaiming the opposite (if you are a US citizen) on my way through the line. _He_ then held up the line as he walked off, consulted with someone who obviously knew better, came back and pouted while he verified my identity "manually."

rty32 2y ago

My comment was based on previous discussions like this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41052152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41052152 It is possible that people's experience vary. But unless we know opt out is something that is done quickly as a routine, and running into clueless TSA agent is a rare exception, I would not try that.

haswell 2y ago
Most online discussion boils down to: - A few people report they’ve had issues opting out - Most people report they have no issues at all Personally, I’d feel like I’m perpetuating the problem (of privacy violation/overreach) by not opting out. Even if most people don’t care, it seems critical to have at least some portion of the population holding back the tide somewhat. If nothing else, a consistent stream of people opting out helps us understand how big the problem has become, i.e. if discussions about this flip over time and most people are getting hassled.

petre 2y ago

In Europe you might end up on the long queue with the non EU residents fighting about their place in the row if you opt not to go through biometrics check or you've got a non biometric ID. Some of the machines are also badly designed because 6'4" tall people have to bend their knees so that the scanner can level to their face.