Wegmans has deployed biometric surveillance at its Manhattan and Brooklyn locations, collecting facial recognition data, eye scans, and voice prints from every customer who walks through the door. The grocery chain’s official statement claims it doesn’t collect “retinal scans or voice prints”—but store signs explicitly warn shoppers about “eye scans” and “voiceprints” being captured and stored.
This represents a dramatic expansion from the company’s 2024 pilot program, which only collected biometric data from consenting employees. Now the Rochester-based chain scans all customers at what it calls “elevated risk” locations, though it won’t specify which stores are affected beyond confirming multiple NYC sites.
From Employee Pilot to Customer Dragnet
The surveillance system expanded far beyond its original scope with little public notice.
Posted notices in early January announced the sweeping data collection, listing facial recognition, eye scans, and voice identification among the biometric markers being captured. Wegmans claims the system only flags individuals “previously identified for misconduct,” but the technology necessarily scans everyone to make those determinations.
The company states it retains data “only as long as necessary for security purposes” but declined to specify exact timeframes, citing security concerns. It also won’t detail data storage methods or confirm whether information gets shared with law enforcement—critical gaps that leave customers in the dark about their digital footprints.
Key surveillance details include:
- All customers entering affected stores get scanned regardless of prior incidents
- Data covers facial features, eye patterns, and voice characteristics
- No mechanism exists for customers to opt out while shopping
- The company promises not to “lease, trade or profit” from biometric transfers
Privacy Advocates Sound Alarms Over Immigrant Risks
Civil liberties groups warn the data collection threatens vulnerable communities and constitutional rights.
Daniel Schwarz of the New York Civil Liberties Union calls the facial recognition technology “highly erroneous” and warns it “defies basic Constitutional principles.” His biggest concern centers on misidentification leading to wrongful store bans or removal of innocent customers.
Even more troubling for advocates: potential data exposure to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “It’s really chilling that immigrant New Yorkers going into Wegmans and other grocery stores have to worry about their highly sensitive biometric data potentially getting into the hands of ICE,” says Will Owen of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
Customer reactions range from uncomfortable to furious. Johnny Jerido, 59, told reporters: “I really don’t like it. I don’t want no one to think I’m stealing anything or doing anything illegal.” Blaze Herbas, 29, put it more bluntly: “We should be able to shop freely without data being saved on us. That’s obvious.”
NYC requires businesses to post notices about biometric collection but offers no enforcement mechanism, leaving customers to pursue individual legal action. Legislation prohibiting retail biometric surveillance has stalled in the City Council since 2023.
The deployment puts Wegmans alongside other NYC retailers embracing surveillance technology—Fairway already uses similar systems to identify shoplifters. For customers weighing privacy against convenience, the choice just got harder.
