San Francisco Gay Bars Are Scanning Patrons’ Faces and Collecting Their Data
Several bars in the Castro are now using facial recognition technology that records a person’s name, address, and even their gender.
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Some bars in San Francisco’s famous Castro neighborhood have installed facial recognition kiosks, which collect information from people’s addresses to their genders.
According to the Gazetteer SF, at least three bars in the historically LGBTQ+ district use something called a Patronscan Guard+, which is a device by a Canadian company that collects biometric and personal data.
The devices collect names, addresses, genders, and patron behavior, the outlet reports.
A reporter with Gazetteer SF went to the bars after none of the establishments responded to requests for comment, noting where the device was placed at one of them.
“Like most private surveillance cameras, the Patronscan kiosk at Mix hides in plain sight. In the dim light of the bar, the black machine is easy to miss. I was also not instructed to face the camera when I handed my ID to the bouncer; when I asked if I would be photographed, the bouncer told me the camera had in fact already taken my picture,” Cydney Hayes wrote. “They said Mix bouncers are not required to verbally tell each patron that they’re being photographed by the Patronscan device. Instead, they rely on a small informational plaque posted to the kiosk below eye level to inform customers what data is being collected and how it will be used.”
A bouncer told Gazetteer SF that the information gathered from the Patronscan device keeps the data for about a month and then deletes it. If a person has been unruly at the bar, that information is saved.
The devices have caused some bar patrons to be concerned.
“I was just kind of taken aback,” Har Owen told the outlet after going to one of the bars on Memorial Day weekend. “Why is this at a gay bar, of all places?”
She explained that at this political moment, “it’s really not great to have lists of gay people.”
Others were less worried.
“I’ve posted worse things on Instagram than whatever they take,” one person said.
Gazetteer SF notes that Patronscan claims that its scanners are in establishments in 700 cities around the world. The outlet also reports that there have been legal challenges around Patronscan’s surveillance technology.
