Saturday, November 25, 2017

HO HO HO: Facial recognition is tracking customers as they shop in stores

HO HO HO: Facial recognition is tracking customers as they shop in stores

BIG BROTHER SEES YOU WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING HE KNOWS WHEN YOU ARE AWAKE!

Retailers are using facial recognition to collect data about customers as they shop in stores, according to an IT company with insight into the space.

"One of the big things brick-and-mortar retailers are getting into now is knowing their customers ... tracking who's entering their mall and how they're behaving," said Mark Lunt, group managing director at Asia-based Jardine OneSolution.

JOS works with the retail sector on facial recognition to profile customers that enter and track their movements.

The data collected include "how many people are coming in, age, ethnicity, gender — it's all about knowing the foot traffic better and trying to serve more appropriate offers to those customers," Lunt said.

Customer identities are kept anonymous and it might even benefit shopping experiences in the long run. According to JOS, its projects include adjusting store music to coincide with the customer's mood.

However, there are limitations for retailers on how the accumulated data is being used and protected.

"Technology is not the barrier to the systems being implemented, it's privacy concerns, it's cultural concerns," said Lunt.

The idea of having sensors and cameras to collect data about shoppers is the defining privacy issue of the age, he said, explaining that retailers are investing considerable amounts of money into securing data and preventing data breaches.

In light of news about Uber's recent data breach, Lunt said, businesses have to be incredibly sensitive. At the same time, customers should be careful about with whom they're entrusting their data.

TURN OFF CAMERAS AND TRACKING DEVICES IN CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS TO PREVENT HACKING, INFORMATION COMMISSIONER TELLS PARENTS

Parents should turn off the cameras and automatic tracking devices in their children’s Christmas presents because of the risk of hacking, the Information Commissioners’ Office has warned.

With a rise in the number of ‘smart’ toys and devices gracing the wish list this year, parents should consider the safety of them being connected directly to the internet before giving them as gifts, according to the data regulator.

When adults are not going to personally use cameras in toys to view what is happening remotely then they should consider turning the function off all together, Deputy Commissioner Steve Wood said.