TSA facial recognition cameras come to Metro Airport

ROMULUS, Mich. (FOX 2) - There is new technology at airports around the country, including right here in Detroit where TSA PreCheck Touchless ID could make traveling safer and quicker.

Detroit Metro Airport is one of 15 airports in the country that have this brand new technology. You have to be a member of the TSA PreCheck.

It's called biometric facial recognition scanning. Travelers go through the PreCheck, then stand in front of the camera to check in.

That's it. There's no, there's no documents, no lists and the line moves fast.

FOX 2 spoke to some travelers today and they don't mind the new system - which is optional, by the way.

"I like that, one-two-three," said one man who stood in front of the facial scanning camera.

"I think it's safer, it's probably faster," said another man.

Travelers who spoke with FOX 2 were not bothered by allowing the camera to take their photo with privacy questions.

According to the TSA website: 

• Only during the field demonstration data collection efforts, TSA collects a live photograph of the passenger, passport number, known traveler number, transactional metadata and the match results.
• Passengers will be notified that their photo will be temporarily saved during the data collection phase.
• TSA converts the information into an anonymized format, encrypts it, and transfers it for temporary analysis to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate (S&T), which assesses the effectiveness of this biometric field demonstration. DHS deletes the data within 180 days in accordance with an approved TSA Record Retention Schedule.

The program is voluntary but by agreeing to it, TSA may share the info you provide with US Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security and Science and Technology Directorate.

For more on the program go to the TSA site HERE.