Sainsbury's begins facial recognition trial in UK stores
Sainsbury's launched an eight-week trial of Facewatch facial recognition technology in two UK stores to identify shoplifters and prevent violence. Privacy campaigners and the Equality and Human Rights Commission criticized the use of facial recognition for mass surveillance and cited evidence of racial bias in similar police systems.
What happened
Sainsbury's began an eight-week trial of facial recognition technology in two UK stores on 2 September 2025: a supermarket in Sydenham, south-east London, and a convenience store in Oldfield Park, Bath.
The supermarket chain is working with facial recognition company Facewatch to identify and potentially ban shoplifters and people engaging in violent or aggressive behaviour. The company stated that records would be deleted instantly if the software did not recognise the face of reported individuals.
Reported impact
Privacy groups and campaigners condemned the trial as 'chilling' and 'deeply disproportionate', citing concerns about mass surveillance and rights infringements.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) previously criticised the use of facial recognition technology at mass events by police, citing research indicating that black men were proportionally more likely to trigger false alerts, and stating the technology could have a 'chilling effect' on individuals' rights.
Index analysis
Facial recognition in retail has faced sustained criticism, with rival Asda facing thousands of complaints after launching a similar trial earlier in 2025.
Sainsbury's said the trial was not about monitoring colleagues or customers, but rather creating safe environments by identifying individuals linked to criminal behaviour reported by the store or other retailers using Facewatch.
Governance controls
Sainsbury's stated that the technology would be used only to identify and potentially ban people engaged in specified harmful behaviours, and that unmatched records would be deleted automatically.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.