Privacy Sainsbury’s expands facial recognition use to combat shoplifting July 6, 2026 Share By SC Staff (Adobe Stock) Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket, is significantly increasing its use of facial recognition technology across its stores to deter shoplifters. The move, which will see the technology deployed in up to 200 locations by the end of 2026, has drawn criticism from privacy advocates who deem it a violation of privacy rights, as reported by The Register. The supermarket chain is tripling the number of stores utilizing facial recognition, expanding from over 55 current locations to a projected 200 by year-end. Sainsbury's claims the system, provided by Facewatch, has been effective, with 90% of identified individuals not returning to the stores. This expansion follows trials that began last year. Privacy campaigners, including Big Brother Watch, have labeled the deployment "shameful" and a serious threat to privacy, urging shoppers to boycott the supermarket. Concerns have been amplified by incidents such as a shopper being wrongly ejected from a store due to a facial recognition alert, highlighting potential inaccuracies and the impact on innocent customers. Despite apologies and promises of staff training following such errors, critics argue that mass surveillance is not a justifiable response to shoplifting and that innocent shoppers should not be subjected to such identity checks. Source: The Register SC Staff Related Privacy WhatsApp introduces usernames to enhance user privacy SC Staff June 30, 2026 The new username functionality enables users to set a unique handle and share that instead of their personal phone number when initiating conversations. Privacy Supreme Court limits geofence search warrants, bolsters privacy rights SC Staff June 29, 2026 In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures applies to location data collected by companies like Google. Privacy ATF cancels contract for ad-surveillance technology after privacy concerns SC Staff June 26, 2026 As outlined in CyberScoop, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has canceled a contract with Penlink that utilized ad-surveillance technologies to track Americans' locations. Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news Business Email By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Subscribe Related Terms Anonymization Authenticity Basic Authentication Biometrics Certificate-Based Authentication Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) Digest Authentication Digital Certificate Discretionary Access Control (DAC) Geolocation You can skip this ad in 5 seconds