Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group has raised serious concerns about major retailers Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys using facial recognition technology to record customers’ faceprints.

Dr Katharine Kemp, a senior lecturer of law at the University of NSW, said the Choice study of Australia’s 25 biggest retailers found the three major outlets were using in-store video systems to create ‘faceprints’ of customers.

“There’s no indication of what that’s (sensitive information) being used for, how long it’s being stored and who it’s being shared with,” she said.

An investigation by CHOICE has found that 76 per cent of Australians are not aware the retailers record their faces, with Kmart and Bunnings only advising customers of the security measure via small signs at entrances.

CHOICE surveyed more than 1000 Australians between March and April 2022 to gauge consumer awareness of facial recognition technology, with 76 per cent of people saying they did not know retailers were using facial recognition.

Those who suspected it was being used wrongly named Coles and Woolworths as using the technology.

Tap PLAY below to hear more from Dr Kemp on what the study found