Your face just became the boarding pass at 65 airports. Almost nobody knows they can say no.

May 9, 2026

By Kim Komando

Sixty-five airports. One camera at every checkpoint. And three words almost nobody knows to say.

This spring, TSA’s Touchless ID program jumped from 15 airports to 65. Atlanta. LAX. JFK. Dallas. Boston. Miami. Orlando. Many more.

The pitch sounds great. Skip the ID, smile at the camera, walk through in five seconds.

🛑 Can you say no?

Ninety-nine percent of travelers have no clue they can say no.

That stat isn’t from some scrappy privacy blog. It’s from TSA’s own oversight board. The signs at the checkpoint say “biometric identity technology.” Not “facial recognition.” I guess it sounds less creepy.

TSA’s older CAT-2 scanners run in 250+ airports. Two programs, one goal. Your face in a database. TSA wants to hit 430+ airports. 

TSA insists photos delete in seconds. Except in their “limited testing environment,” where they keep them longer. 

👀 What can go wrong

In 2024, a TSA subcontractor got breached, exposing 190,000 traveler images. You can change a stolen password. You can’t change your face.

There’s more. Federal testing shows facial recognition misidentifies Asian and African American travelers up to 100x more often than white men. Native Americans and women get flagged the most. The people the algorithm sees worst are the ones most likely to get pulled aside.

The bipartisan Traveler Privacy Protection Act would force TSA to stop nudging everyone into face scans and delete biometric data fast. It’s been stalled in Congress. For now, this one’s on us.

🛑 The three words to remember

When you reach the camera, say: “Opt me out.” That’s it. The officer compares your physical ID to your face the old-fashioned way. Maybe 10 extra seconds. If an officer pushes back, ask for a supervisor and quote the opt-out policy.

FYI, this works at every TSA checkpoint. Every airport. Touchless ID lane or CAT-2 scanner, same three words. Your face is yours. Keep it that way.

What I still can’t grasp is, how does this work on two-faced people? (That hurt even me writing it.)

📩 Send this to someone who is flying anywhere this summer.