Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC Wegmans is storing biometric data on shoppers' eyes, voices and faces
By
Liam Quigley
Published Jan 3, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Scott Lynch / Gothamist
By
Liam Quigley
Published Jan 3, 2026
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Wegmans in New York City has begun collecting biometric data from anyone who enters its supermarkets, according to new signage posted at the chain's Manhattan and Brooklyn locations earlier this month.
Anyone entering the store could have data on their face, eyes and voices collected and stored by the Rochester-headquartered supermarket chain. The information is used to "protect the safety and security of our patrons and employees," according to the signage. The new scanning policy is an expansion of a 2024 pilot.
The chain had initially said that the scanning system was only for a small group of employees and promised to delete any biometric data it collected from shoppers during the pilot rollout. The new notice makes no such assurances.
Wegmans representatives did not reply to questions about how the data would be stored, why it changed its policy or if it would share the data with law enforcement.
A sign notifying Wegmans customers that their biometric data is being collected inside its stores.
Liam Quigley
Shopper Johnny Jerido, 59, said he would shop elsewhere after learning about the biometric collection system.
“ I really don't like it,” he said. “I don't want no one to think I'm stealing anything or doing anything illegal.”
Legislation aiming to block businesses from using such systems was introduced in the City Council in 2023 after Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan used it to identify and boot two attorneys who worked for law firms with active litigation against his company. But the bill has languished, and other supermarket chains like Fairway already use biometric collection systems.
Councilmember Shahana Hanif is the bill's primary sponsor. She did not reply to a request for comment on Wegmans' expanded collection program.
Wegmans and other businesses that collect biometric data are required to post signs announcing the practice because of a 2021 city law, but it’s unclear how many other companies may be using similar practices.
The agency in charge of implementing the law has no enforcement mechanism for businesses that don’t comply, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, who said that customers are free to pursue their own legal action.
Will Owen, a privacy advocate with the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said that storing customer’s biometric data can open them up to risks from hackers or immigration enforcement.
“It’s really chilling that immigrant New Yorkers going into Wegmans and other grocery stores have to worry about their highly sensitive biometric data potentially getting into the hands of ICE,” he said.
Blaze Herbas, 29, said she shopped at the store but would avoid it in the future.
“We should be able to shop freely without data being saved on us. That's obvious,” she said.
Tagged
new york city
Liam Quigley
Liam Quigley is a reporter covering parks & sanitation for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .