Disneyland implements facial recognition to keep the lines moving, but guests say they didn’t know it was optional

Disneyland implements facial recognition to keep the lines moving, but guests say they didn’t know it was optional

If you want to visit the “Happiest Place on Earth,” you’ll go through a new gatekeeper first: facial recognition.

The Anaheim resort has expanded facial-recognition technology at entrances to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure after months of limited testing, reads Disney’s privacy notice, in which the company states the intention is to make reentry easier and to prevent fraud.

Disney says the system is optional: Guests who do not want to use it can enter through non-facial-recognition lanes, where a cast member manually validates their ticket. However, those guests may still have their photos taken, even as Disney says biometric technology is not used on those images.

According to Disney’s privacy notice, the system compares a camera image taken at the entrance with the image saved when a guest first used a ticket or pass, converting the images into unique numerical values to look for a match. Disney says it deletes the numbers within 30 days, unless they must........

© Fortune