Every time a new camera pops up in a store, there is a new round of posts claiming we are all being scanned, tracked, and tagged. Lately the focus has shifted to self-checkout machines. Viral threads say those little camera windows above the screen are secretly running facial recognition on every shopper, building a database of faces without consent.

There is a bit of truth hiding inside a lot of exaggeration, so I decided to dig into what is actually known.

Where The Rumor Comes From

For years, big retailers have experimented with cameras at self-checkout to fight shoplifting. Recently, Target rolled out a system called TruScan that uses cameras to watch items being scanned and flag possible missed scans. In coverage of that rollout, Target said the system looks at products and barcodes, not faces, and that it is not doing facial recognition.

Then in 2025, a customer in Illinois filed a class-action lawsuit against Home Depot. He claimed cameras at self-checkout were secretly performing facial recognition in violation of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. According to the complaint, he noticed a green box appear around his face on the kiosk screen and said there were no signs explaining what the system was doing. Home Depot has said its cameras are there to prevent theft, and the case is still working through the courts.

Self-Checkout Cameras Versus Facial Recognition

It helps to separate a few different technologies that often get lumped together:

• Simple cameras. These just record video like any other security camera.
• Computer vision for objects. Systems like TruScan are trained to recognize items, empty carts, or suspicious movements, but not specific people.
• Facial detection. This is software that can spot “there is a face in this frame” so a green box appears on the screen, usually for framing or basic analytics.
• Facial recognition. This is the controversial one. It attempts to match your face to a stored template to identify you as a specific person.

Most viral posts treat any on-screen box or any mention of “AI cameras” as proof that facial recognition is being used. In reality, retailers are usually pretty careful not to admit to actual recognition because that sets off legal and public-relations alarms, especially in states with strict biometric privacy laws.

What We Know And What We Do Not

Right now, we know that some stores are using more advanced cameras at self-checkout. We know at least one retailer is facing a lawsuit claiming those cameras are doing facial recognition. What we do not have is proof that every self-checkout camera in every chain is secretly building a database of faces, which is what a lot of social media posts imply.

It is also worth remembering that lawsuits are allegations, not rulings. Courts will still have to decide what the technology is actually doing and whether it breaks any laws.

How To Tell If A Store Is Using Biometrics

If a store is collecting biometric data like face scans in a place with strict privacy laws, it is supposed to tell you. That notice may come as a sign near the entrance, a small placard near the checkout, or a statement buried in a privacy policy. That is not as dramatic as a viral post, but it is where the real information usually lives.

In Short

• Retailers are adding more cameras and AI to self-checkout, mostly to watch items and reduce theft.
• Some systems do object detection or basic face detection, which looks creepy on screen but is not always full facial recognition.
• There is at least one active lawsuit claiming a big chain used facial recognition at self-checkout without consent, but that claim still has to be proven in court.
• Before assuming every self-checkout camera is secretly scanning your face, it is worth looking for posted notices and reading what the store actually says it is doing.

Sources

• Home Depot facial recognition class-action coverage, PC Gamer and other outlets, August 2025.
• “Home Depot Sued for Secretly Using Facial Recognition Technology on Self-Checkout Cameras,” Petapixel, August 2025.
• “Target ‘Targets’ Theft with New Surveillance Technology – Denies Allegations of Collecting its Customers’ Facial Recognition Data,” Suffolk University Journal of High Technology Law blog, October 2024.