Supermarkets could get '˜facial recognition' tills that guess your age

A new facial recognition app could be trialled in British supermarkets.

The new system, from British firm Yoti, would enable the supermarket, or shop, to check the age of the customer buying products such as knives and alcohol without the need for human intervention.

The app works by pairing a selfie with an official document, such as a driving licence or passport.

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Shoppers can prove their age in one of two ways. Either the Yoti Age Scan where age detection technology uses the self checkout’s inbuilt camera to take a photo of the shopper’s face and determine whether they are over the set age limit for the product(s) they are buying.

Or the Yoti app where shoppers download the free Yoti app and create a secure digital identity. They combine their facial features and the distances between them, with details taken from their government issued ID document, such as their passport or driving licence, which is then used by the Yoti app to scan a QR code displayed on-screen at the self checkout to share their verified date of birth.

In a statement,

Yoti said two UK supermarkets had won approval to try the ID system in 2018.

More information here