TSA’s Facial Recognition Kiosk and How To Use It

With summer travel hitting its stride, you may experience something new at some TSA checkpoints. Facial recognition technology is in use at 16 airports across the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, LA, and Miami.

We haven’t seen many instructions on how to move through this technology, but our own Steve Mineck recently experienced it in Atlanta. Here are his tips:

“The process is quite simple once you get past the fact there are no instructions and there’s an impatient mob of travelers behind you and a surly TSA guard in front of you.

1. Slide your Driver’s License (or other approved ID) into the card reader slot.?I watched one traveler tap his license on the reader thinking it would read the chip, and that did not work.
2. Step back and look at the camera. This allows the machine to compare your image with the scanned image on your ID. Do?not?step forward and peer into what looks like retinal scanners. I actually did this before realizing I needed to step back for a proper image to be taken.
3. Once the screen flashes “Photo Complete,” you are allowed to continue to your gate.

Remember, you can opt out but typically, the facial recognition kiosks are used when security lines are very long.”

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Thank you for sharing your experience, Steve. We wish everyone Happy Travels!