“From Macy’s to Ace Hardware, facial recognition is already everywhere”, 15 July 2021.

Some of the US’s most popular stores — including Macy’s and Ace Hardware — are using facial recognition on their customers, largely without their knowledge.

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Several popular stores, including Lowe’s, the grocery chain Albertsons, and Macy’s, are already using facial recognition, according to Fight for the Future’s database. How exactly these retailers are using facial recognition can be unclear, since companies typically aren’t upfront about it.

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Stores are embracing facial recognition tech because, they claim, it can help them prevent theft. But experts warn this technology raises alarms. Customers rarely know that this technology is in use, leaving them without the opportunity to say no or remove themselves from a store’s facial recognition-based watch list. At the same time, facial recognition algorithms can be inaccurate, and come with built-in racial and gender biases.