4 ms·

How is this news, the usgov has been taking my biometrics for the past 5 years

by wagwang 11mo ago

nozzlegear 11mo ago
Have they? They haven't taken mine.
- y-curious 11mo ago
  Every time I fly from SFO, there’s a face-tracking camera that takes your photo after you stand up close to it. There’s definitely some sort of data harvesting there and there’s no opt out that I know about. I also have Clear, which was voluntary but certainly collected my biometric data years ago. I also have Global Entry, which has a similar scanning tech to point 1.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - abeppu 11mo ago
    Yeah, I think the crappy side of it at this point is that the biometric data they collect is never leveraged to help you as a citizen. If I lose my passport while abroad, given that the government has my fingerprints etc, why can't I use those biometrics to reenter the country (and have a replacement passport reissued immediately)? Officially, you are supposed to be able to opt out of the face recognition cameras at security but I think whether staff actually respect that is not consistent.
    - deleted 11mo ago
      [deleted]
    - hedora 11mo ago
      The camera at SJC says it deletes the scan immediately after querying the database. That makes opt out (which the sign says is allowed) kinda pointless, unless the opt out also deletes the existing database entries. Tl;dr, I don’t bother opting out.
  - duskdozer 11mo ago
    The first kind you can just opt out: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2025/05/19/why-how-opt-out-latest-tsa-facial-recognition-security-check/83721196007/ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2025/05/19/why-how-opt-o...
  - matwood 11mo ago
    Yeah, with GE/PreCheck and all the border crossing I do, I gave up on my biometric data being private long ago.
- yannyu 11mo ago
  As a US citizen, you likely have your photo in a state or federal database somewhere from getting your ID or driver's license. Depending on your job, background check history, or interactions with the police, your fingerprints might be in a database somewhere. If you fly, your facial image/photograph/video is held by TSA and also as part of the REAL ID program. So there are some biometrics that the government has of us, but clearly the article is describing a huge increase in not just the kind of biometric data collected, but also the kinds of people who would be required to give it up.
  - nozzlegear 11mo ago
    I guess I wasn't counting my photo ID as biometrics since there's no 3D map of my face to accompany it. I haven't been through an airport in over ten years either so hopefully my biometrics remain out of government databases for now.
- wagwang 11mo ago
  I've gotten scanned at the airport on entry and for my greencard h1b/greencard applications, I had to go get scanned at a biometrics center. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/preparing-for-your-biometric-services-appointment https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/preparing-for-yo...
  - dyauspitr 11mo ago
    Yes immigrants but not citizens.
  - busterarm 11mo ago
    And is now required for Americans traveling to the EU now anyway.
- JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
  > They haven't taken mine If you let have a passport, State has your face.
  - nozzlegear 11mo ago
    I don't have one, but even if I did that's only a 2D photo right? I guess when I think biometrics I think of the full on 3D depth maps, vocal signatures, iris recognition, etc. that a phone is doing to tell who's trying to unlock it. Not that I want them to have a plain photo of me either, but that ship has sailed unfortunately.
- caseysoftware 11mo ago
  The TSA uses facial recognition right now at most US airports. While they claim to not store the pictures, they've "accidentally" stored data many other times they promised not to so consider me skeptical.
  - nozzlegear 11mo ago
    I haven't been through an airport in over 10 years, but it was my understanding that you could opt out of the facial scanning stuff? I've asked my wife to do it each time she flies to California, just to see what happens, but she doesn't want to be a nuisance. :\
    - caseysoftware 11mo ago
      Yes, I've opted out of it every time so far this year (40+ flights) BUT that only covers the security checkpoint. Delta also uses it at boarding time and who knows who does what via cameras in the airport as a whole.

How is this news, the usgov has been taking my biometrics for the past 5 years

by wagwang 11mo ago

How is this news, the usgov has been taking my biometrics for the past 5 years

nozzlegear 11mo ago

Have they? They haven't taken mine.

y-curious 11mo ago
Every time I fly from SFO, there’s a face-tracking camera that takes your photo after you stand up close to it. There’s definitely some sort of data harvesting there and there’s no opt out that I know about. I also have Clear, which was voluntary but certainly collected my biometric data years ago. I also have Global Entry, which has a similar scanning tech to point 1.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- abeppu 11mo ago
  Yeah, I think the crappy side of it at this point is that the biometric data they collect is never leveraged to help you as a citizen. If I lose my passport while abroad, given that the government has my fingerprints etc, why can't I use those biometrics to reenter the country (and have a replacement passport reissued immediately)? Officially, you are supposed to be able to opt out of the face recognition cameras at security but I think whether staff actually respect that is not consistent.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - hedora 11mo ago
    The camera at SJC says it deletes the scan immediately after querying the database. That makes opt out (which the sign says is allowed) kinda pointless, unless the opt out also deletes the existing database entries. Tl;dr, I don’t bother opting out.
- duskdozer 11mo ago
  The first kind you can just opt out: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2025/05/19/why-how-opt-out-latest-tsa-facial-recognition-security-check/83721196007/ https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2025/05/19/why-how-opt-o...
- matwood 11mo ago
  Yeah, with GE/PreCheck and all the border crossing I do, I gave up on my biometric data being private long ago.
yannyu 11mo ago
As a US citizen, you likely have your photo in a state or federal database somewhere from getting your ID or driver's license. Depending on your job, background check history, or interactions with the police, your fingerprints might be in a database somewhere. If you fly, your facial image/photograph/video is held by TSA and also as part of the REAL ID program. So there are some biometrics that the government has of us, but clearly the article is describing a huge increase in not just the kind of biometric data collected, but also the kinds of people who would be required to give it up.
- nozzlegear 11mo ago
  I guess I wasn't counting my photo ID as biometrics since there's no 3D map of my face to accompany it. I haven't been through an airport in over ten years either so hopefully my biometrics remain out of government databases for now.
wagwang 11mo ago
I've gotten scanned at the airport on entry and for my greencard h1b/greencard applications, I had to go get scanned at a biometrics center. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/preparing-for-your-biometric-services-appointment https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/preparing-for-yo...
- dyauspitr 11mo ago
  Yes immigrants but not citizens.
- busterarm 11mo ago
  And is now required for Americans traveling to the EU now anyway.
JumpCrisscross 11mo ago
> They haven't taken mine If you let have a passport, State has your face.
- nozzlegear 11mo ago
  I don't have one, but even if I did that's only a 2D photo right? I guess when I think biometrics I think of the full on 3D depth maps, vocal signatures, iris recognition, etc. that a phone is doing to tell who's trying to unlock it. Not that I want them to have a plain photo of me either, but that ship has sailed unfortunately.
caseysoftware 11mo ago
The TSA uses facial recognition right now at most US airports. While they claim to not store the pictures, they've "accidentally" stored data many other times they promised not to so consider me skeptical.
- nozzlegear 11mo ago
  I haven't been through an airport in over 10 years, but it was my understanding that you could opt out of the facial scanning stuff? I've asked my wife to do it each time she flies to California, just to see what happens, but she doesn't want to be a nuisance. :\
  - caseysoftware 11mo ago
    Yes, I've opted out of it every time so far this year (40+ flights) BUT that only covers the security checkpoint. Delta also uses it at boarding time and who knows who does what via cameras in the airport as a whole.