Is Your Face Really Secure? Weighing the Risks and Rewards of Facial Recognition Everywhere

Walk into a store, board a flight, log into an account, or browse online. Chances are you may be asked to scan your face. Facial recognition and other biometric tools are rapidly becoming routine ways to prove identity.

They’re promoted as fast, seamless and secure, yet they also raise serious concerns about privacy, consent and how personal data is stored, shared and used. The debate becomes even more complex when the technology is applied to children from age-verification online to school attendance, payments and campus access.

Unlike a password or card, a face can’t be replaced. Once a facial scan is collected, it may remain in a database indefinitely and if that data is breached, misused or combined with other systems, the consequences can follow someone for life. Errors and mis-identification also pose risks, potentially affecting access to services, mobility, reputation and safety.

Facial recognition can deliver efficiency, fraud prevention and security benefits, but its permanence, accuracy gaps and lack of consistent safeguards mean the stakes are high, especially for young people and families. Before it becomes an unquestioned default, stronger rules, transparency and genuine consent are needed to ensure the technology serves the public rather than putting them at risk.