When Bunnings started to use facial recognition technology to check on who was in its stores, without the consent of customers, it raised alarm bells. 

It says the face scans were deleted within one second and the tech helped to make stores safer, by identifying thieves or people who’ve been violent. 

But at what cost? The hardware giant has now been found to have breached Australians’ privacy.  

Today, tech reporter Ange Lavoipierre on what Bunnings was up to, how the technology works and whether it’s something to be wary of. 

She says the technology was used in 63 stores across Victoria and New South Wales over a three-year period. 

The Privacy Commissioner, Carly Kind, ruled that Bunnings' actions interfered with the privacy of potentially hundreds of thousands of customers. 

Ange Lavoipierre also discusses the broader implications of such surveillance technologies and the potential for misuse of biometric data.

Featured: 

Ange Lavoipierre, ABC national technology reporter

Key Topics:

• Facial recognition technology
• Privacy breach 
• Retail surveillance
• Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind
• Biometric data misuse
• Retail security 
• Consumer privacy rights
• Surveillance technology