Wegmans collects customers' biometric data

Wegmans is an American supermarket chain headquartered in Rochester, NY with stores across the east coast. With over 110 stores containing 54,000 employees, they make $12.5 billion in annual sales.

In January 2026, several Wegmans stores in New York City have implemented facial recognition systems. As of January 7, many of the implementation details of this data collection including data security measures, scale of data collection, and future plans to expand biometric data collection are currently unclear.

Background

In 2024, Wegmans began a 60-day facial recognition pilot program at a Brooklyn store, claiming to only store data on select employees who consented to this program. Customers were displeased, drawing parallels to Kroger's or Walmart's use of facial recognition, and how facial recognition interlinks with other practices like racial profiling and algorithmic pricing.

Biometric collection in NYC stores

In January 2026, Wegmans stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn began displaying posters that disclosed the use of biometric data collection in their stores. The posters specify that the data collected may include faces, eye scans, and voiceprints. A disclaimer states that this biometric data will not be leased, traded, or otherwise profited from. But the collection of this biometric data is inherently troublesome, as once collected, there is no way to guarantee Wegmans upholds their policy, and even if they do, the data could be leaked by a rogue employee or released by hackers after a data breach. Jonathan Weissman, a cybersecurity professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, emphasizes that unlike credit card numbers or passwords, biometric data cannot be changed, making a biometric data breach especially harmful. He also notes that although biometric data is useful for authentication, it is not specific to one business or service; it can be used anywhere once captured. This immutable and widely applicable data is a lucrative target for hackers, making it a near-inevitability that it will be leaked at some point in the future.

Poster displayed outside Wegmans stores in New York City

Wegmans' response

In a statement, Wegmans clarified that although most of their stores have cameras, only a select few stores conduct facial recognition. Additionally, despite the disclaimer that several types of biometrics may be captured, only facial recognition data is currently being collected, and data is only retained as long as necessary. However, the retention period cannot be publicly disclosed for security reasons. The full statement is reproduced below:

At Wegmans, the safety of our customers and employees is a top priority. Like many retailers, we use cameras to help identify individuals who pose a risk to our people, customers, or operation. In a small fraction of our stores that exhibit an elevated risk, we have deployed cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. In New York City, we comply with local requirements by posting the mandated signage to notify customers about the technology.

This technology is solely used for keeping our stores secure and safe. The system collects facial recognition data and only uses it to identify individuals who have been previously flagged for misconduct. We do not collect other biometric data such as retinal scans or voice prints. Images and video are retained only as long as necessary for security purposes and then disposed of. For security reasons, we do not disclose the exact retention period, but it aligns with industry standards. Persons of interest are determined by our asset protection team based on incidents occurring on our property and on a case-by-case basis, by information from law enforcement for criminal or missing persons cases. We do not share facial recognition scan data with any third party. We understand concerns about fairness and bias in facial recognition systems. We employ a multitude of training and safety measures to help keep people safe. Facial recognition technology serves as one investigative lead for us. We never base our decisions on a single lead alone.

Our goal is simple - to keep our stores safe and secure.

Legality and political response

Following the initial reporting, Monroe County Legislator Rachel Barnhart requested information on the scale of biometric data collection and the future use of this technology at Wegmans. One of her questions is if biometric surveillance is being conducted in any Wegmans stores outside of NYC, noting that NYC is one of the few jurisdictions that has a biometric data collection disclosure law. This implies that biometric data collection could be used unbeknownst to the public in other locales that do not have disclosure laws.

New York City Councilmember Shahana Hanif stated that "Biometric data should not be collected, stored, or sold by private actors—it poses a serious threat to our civil liberties," and is reintroducing a bill to ban the collection of biometric data.

References

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