Wegmans has declined to say whether its Alexandria store uses facial recognition technology, after the supermarket chain shared that some of its locations employ the security measure.
Cameras with facial recognition technology have been set up “in a small fraction of our stores located in communities that exhibit an elevated risk,” Wegmans said in a statement. Spokesperson Marcie Rivera declined to comment on the chain’s Carlyle location at 150 Stovall Street and other Northern Virginia locations.
“We put a great deal of time and thought into each store’s security program,” Rivera said. “For security and safety purposes, we do not get into the specific measures used at each store.”
The grocery store chain says its cameras collect facial data to identify people previously flagged for misconduct and may also help law enforcement with “criminal or missing persons cases.”
Earlier this month, Wegmans notified customers at affected New York City stores with signage, per local mandate. Virginia doesn’t appear to have this same mandate, as Wegmans did not identify stores beyond New York City using the facial recognition technology.
Wegmans has a total of 15 stores in Virginia.
The grocery store chain clarified that it does not collect other biometric data, like retinal scans or voice prints. Facial scan data is not shared with third parties, Wegmans said.
Stores may keep images and videos for security purposes and remove the files when they are no longer needed.
