Home Depot sued for collecting facial geometry at self-checkout without consent
Home Depot faces a class-action lawsuit alleging it used facial recognition technology at self-checkout kiosks in Illinois to collect customers' facial geometry data without informed written consent, violating the state's Biometric Information Privacy Act. The company announced it began using the "computer vision" technology in August 2023 and expanded it to self-checkout stations by May 2024.
What happened
Home Depot announced in August 2023 that it had started using 'computer vision,' an AI technology that analyzes digital images and videos to help mitigate theft.
By May 2024, the company had expanded the technology to curb theft at self-checkout stations.
A class-action lawsuit was filed on August 1, 2025 in Illinois federal court by Benjamin Jankowski, alleging that Home Depot collected facial geometry data from customers at self-checkout kiosks without informed written consent.
Jankowski documented the system capturing his facial geometry with a rectangular box visible around his head during a June 2025 visit to a Home Depot store in the Chicago area.
Reported impact
The lawsuit alleges Home Depot violated Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to make publicly available written policies for retaining and destroying facial geometry scans.
Jankowski claims Home Depot did not obtain customers' informed, written consent before collecting their biometric information.
Index analysis
The Illinois Legislature passed BIPA to regulate how biometric identifiers, like facial scans, are collected, used, and stored, requiring companies to create publicly accessible written policies and obtain individuals' informed, written consent before collecting their biometric information.
Governance controls
Home Depot's spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation and did not provide details about the company's policies regarding the facial recognition system.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.