How to Opt Out of TSA Facial Recognition at the Airport

Last checked: October 29, 2026. Based on TSA.gov (2026), The Washington Post (July 2023), and the Algorithmic Justice League Comply To Fly? report (July 2025).

That airport face scan is optional.

At many US airport checkpoints, a TSA camera takes your photo and matches it to the photo on your ID. TSA calls this facial comparison. TSA says it is voluntary: you can decline and get a standard ID check instead.

A lot of people never hear that. In a 2025 report built from traveler-submitted scorecards, 99 percent said no officer told them they could opt out. TSA still says the photo is optional, and that saying no does not cost you your place in line.

This guide is the practical TSA facial recognition opt out: what the camera does, the words to use at the podium, whether TSA says it keeps your photo, and how that differs from TSA PreCheck Touchless ID.

#Watch: Can you opt out of the TSA face scan?

This video walks through the checkpoint opt-out and what TSA says happens to the photo.

#Can you opt out of a TSA face scan?

Yes.

TSA's FAQ, "Am I required to be processed by the biometric technology tested at an airport checkpoint?", answers:

"No. Facial comparison technology is voluntary. Tell a TSA officer if you do not wish to participate. The officer will use the standard ID verification process."

TSA's Digital Identity and Facial Comparison Technology page says the same thing in shorter form: "The photo is optional." It also says: "Tell the officer if you do not want your photo taken. You will not lose your place in line." If you plan to decline, TSA says to notify the officer before presenting your ID.

You do not have to take a picture at TSA.

#How TSA facial comparison works

This is not a search of a mugshot database. For the standard checkpoint camera, TSA describes 1:1 facial matching: a camera takes a picture of you and compares it to the image on the photo ID you just handed over, such as a passport or driver's license.

TSA calls the hardware Credential Authentication Technology 2, or CAT-2. On TSA's Biometrics Technology page, the agency says this approach "does not require a database of pre-staged images because it simply compares an image from the document presented by the passenger against an image taken of the passenger at the checkpoint."

TSA's Facial Comparison Technology fact sheet (2026) adds:

• CAT-2 units are deployed at approximately 350 airports.
• Signage at the camera says participation is voluntary.
• Travelers under 18 are not photographed.
• TSA says the technology is not used for surveillance or law enforcement. It is used to check that the person at the podium matches the photo on their ID.

If the live photo and the ID photo do not match, or if you decline the camera, TSA says the officer falls back to a manual ID check.

#How to opt out of TSA facial recognition

Do this at the ID podium, before you hand over your ID or step in front of the camera.

1. Walk up to the officer. Stay off the camera marks if you can see them.
2. Say: "I'd like to opt out of the photo." That wording is ours. TSA does not publish a script. TSA's FAQ only says to tell a TSA officer if you do not wish to participate.
3. Hand over your physical ID when asked. The officer checks it by hand.
4. Keep your place in the same line. TSA says this action will not take longer.

Say it early. The 2025 traveler report below found that some people who did not opt out were already scanned before they had a chance. TSA's Digital ID page also says: "If you decide to decline the optional photo, notify the TSA officer before presenting your ID."

TSA's fact sheet says travelers who decline "will receive an alternative ID credential check by the TSO at the podium," "without recourse." It also says: "This action will not take longer, and travelers will not lose their place in line for security screening."

If an officer tells you the camera is required, you can repeat that you want the standard ID check. TSA's published policy is that the photo is optional.

#Does TSA keep your photo?

TSA says usually no, with one stated exception.

The fact sheet says:

"Photos are not stored or saved after a positive ID match has been made except in a limited testing environment for evaluation of the technology's effectiveness."

The Digital ID page says, in TSA's words: "Your photo and personal data are deleted after your identity is verified." That line appears with a footnote marker on TSA's site. Treat it as what TSA says, not as an independent audit.

TSA also says images are not used for law enforcement or surveillance, and are not shared with other entities.

TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is different on timing. On the Touchless ID page, TSA says that under that opt-in program, "your photo and personal data are deleted within 24-hours of your scheduled flight departure." That is a separate program from the CAT-2 camera in a regular lane. See below.

#What a 2023 Washington Post report found

TSA's policy is clear on paper. Getting it honored at the podium has not always been.

On July 11, 2023, Shira Ovide wrote in The Washington Post: "You can say no to a TSA face scan. But even a senator had trouble."

When Sen. Jeff Merkley said no to the face scan at Washington's Reagan National Airport, "he was told it would cause a significant delay, a spokeswoman for the senator said."

There was no delay. The spokeswoman said the senator showed his photo ID to the TSA agent and cleared security.

The same column described another traveler, Tawana Petty, who asked at Reagan National whether the camera was optional and was told it was required. With a flight to catch and a line behind her, she went along. The Post noted it did not independently confirm either trip. TSA said it could not comment on individual interactions without more details.

The point of that reporting is not that the opt-out is fake. It is that some travelers have been told something different from TSA's written policy. TSA told the Post that saying no will not take longer and will not trigger extra screening. The fact sheet still says there is "no issue and no delay" when a traveler declines.

#What travelers reported in 2025

In July 2025, the Algorithmic Justice League published Comply To Fly?, a report on how travelers said they experienced TSA's facial recognition program.

This was not a random sample of all passengers. AJL asked people to submit a TSA scorecard through its Freedom Flyers campaign. The operational-period analysis covers 420 traveler-submitted responses from 91 US airports, for flights from March 1, 2024 through June 2, 2025. People who already care about face scans are more likely to fill out a scorecard. Read the numbers as reports from those travelers, not as a census of every lane.

From those scorecards, AJL reported:

• 99 percent said they were not told verbally by TSA officers that they could opt out. AJL wrote that only 4 travelers (1 percent) indicated officers asked for consent.
• Among the 174 respondents who did not verbally opt out, 47.7 percent said they did not know opt-out was an option, and 27.6 percent said they were scanned before they had a chance.
• Some travelers who did opt out described rude or hostile treatment, including raised voices and comments that they were being ridiculous.

AJL recommends halting TSA's use of facial recognition so the public can debate it. TSA's published position is the opposite on consequences: the fact sheet says travelers who decline get an alternative ID check "without recourse," will not lose their place in line, and "will not experience any negative consequences for choosing not to participate."

Both can be true in the record at once. TSA's policy says there is no penalty. AJL's self-reported scorecards say many people never heard the opt-out, and some who used it were treated poorly. If you want the opt-out, say it early and stay on the written policy: the photo is optional, and the fallback is a hand ID check.

#TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is a separate opt-in

Do not mix this up with the CAT-2 camera in a regular lane.

TSA PreCheck Touchless ID is a program you have to join. TSA's Touchless ID page says you need to be a current TSA PreCheck traveler with a valid passport, plus either:

• an active profile with a participating airline, where you add your Known Traveler Number and passport and select opt in, or
• a Google Wallet ID pass, then opt in from your boarding pass.

That program is 1:n matching. TSA's biometrics page says it uses CBP's Traveler Verification Service to compare a live photo to a gallery of photos you previously gave the government for travel, such as a passport. That is a different check from CAT-2's "this face vs. this ID."

TSA says consenting passengers can opt out at any time. If you enrolled and then change your mind, skip the dedicated Touchless ID lane and use a standard PreCheck or regular ID check. At the podium you can still tell the officer you do not want your photo taken.

Bring a physical ID either way. TSA says even Touchless ID travelers must carry a REAL ID-compliant physical ID and present it if asked.

#What opting out does not do

Declining the TSA camera only changes how your ID is checked at that checkpoint.

• It does not remove photos of you from the public web.
• It does not opt you out of private face search engines such as PimEyes.
• It does not take your name, address, or phone number off people-search sites.
• It does not stop airline, hotel, or border systems that use their own photos.

If the worry is "someone can find me from a picture," the checkpoint opt-out is one slice. Face search sites and people-search listings are a different problem. Start with how to opt out of PimEyes and how to remove your personal information from the internet.

UndoLeak erases your data from data brokers and keeps it off. The airport camera is one place your face is checked. Data brokers are where a name turns into a phone number and a home address.

Run a free privacy check

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#Sources

1. TSA, "Am I required to be processed by the biometric technology tested at an airport checkpoint?" (2026): https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions/am-i-required-be-processed-biometric-technology-tested-airport

2. TSA, "Facial Comparison Technology" fact sheet (2026): https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/factsheets/facial-comparison-technology

3. TSA, "Digital Identity and Facial Comparison Technology" (2026): https://www.tsa.gov/digital-id

4. TSA, "Biometrics Technology" (2026): https://www.tsa.gov/biometrics-technology

5. TSA, "TSA PreCheck Touchless ID" (2026): https://www.tsa.gov/touchless-id

6. The Washington Post, Shira Ovide, "You can say no to a TSA face scan. But even a senator had trouble." (July 11, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/11/tsa-airport-security-facial-recognition/

7. Algorithmic Justice League, "Comply To Fly?" report (July 2025): https://www.ajl.org/flyreport

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Not affiliated with TSA, DHS, CBP, the Algorithmic Justice League, The Washington Post, or any organization mentioned.