Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Facial recognition technology helps feed hundreds of struggling Britons

FaceDonate is a social enterprise that lets people buy groceries at a handful of participating shops by scanning their face on an app

Facial recognition technology helps feed hundreds of struggling Britons

Facial Recognition technology is being utilised to provide food to hundreds of financially struggling people in Britain.

Instead of having to settle for donated or discarded food, these individuals can now exchange a scan of their face for food of their own choosing.


As inflation continues to soar, and more families become dependent on food banks for survival, the ability to order food via an app is a much-appreciated new alternative, according to experts.

"Any food that I like, I can buy. I'm happy they can help us because everything is expensive now," said Kazeiban, a 64-year-old woman from Cyprus and convert to the facial payment system.

She is one of nearly 200 people a month who uses the face recognition app since her inner-city London charity, Hackney Foodbank, began trialling the system a year ago. The partnership has now been formalised with takeup due to jump this year.

Customers can still pick food from the charity's donations - green crates brimming with tinned vegetables, pasta and biscuits - but many prefer to shop by phone, bypassing the stigma that food banks can carry to select groceries of their own choosing.

FaceDonate is a social enterprise that lets people buy groceries at a handful of participating shops by scanning their face on an app installed on their mobile phone.

Founded in 2020, FaceDonate is a web platform that lets charities collect and distribute funds to people in need, while also allowing individuals and businesses to fundraise and track how their donations are spent.

The food bank says it gives users the freedom to buy what they need, eases pressure on overwhelmed food banks, and lets the charity monitor how money is spent.

With more than 1.4 billion people worldwide set to adopt facial-recognition payment technology by 2025, according to Juniper Research, it is a fast-growing industry - but one fraught with privacy risks, digital rights experts say.

They say the use of biometric data to unlock help can expose vulnerable groups to data leaks, commercial data exploitation, identity theft and further marginalisation.

Hackney Foodbank chief executive Pat Fitzsimons said the technology means charities can ensure money is only spent by eligible recipients, reducing fraud and abuse of cash transfers.

Users are given money based on their household size and are barred from spending it on big-ticket items, tobacco or alcohol. Nor can they transfer the funds to anyone else, she said.

FaceDonate said it had transferred more than 65,000 pounds ($81,484) to disadvantaged northeast Londoners via face scans since partnering with Hackney Foodbank a year ago.

But digital rights group Access Now said charities using biometric systems should assess their long-term impact.

It says the reliance on biometrics, including iris and fingerprint scans, could put people at risk - be it from data leaks, identity theft, sale of data or the unfair targeting or exposure of marginalised people.

"Facial recognition is an invasive form of identification and vulnerable people who are in need should not be exchanging their most sensitive information for basic needs," said Access Now's Marwa Fatafta.

(Thomson Reuters Foundation)

More For You

karan-thakar

Karun Thakar is a leading textile collector with a lifelong focus on Asian and African textiles

Karun Collection

Karun Thakar Fund to support textile research with scholarships and grants

THE KARUN THAKAR FUND, established by textile collector Karun Thakar in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), supports the study of Asian and African textiles and dress through scholarships and project grants.

The fund offers one-time Scholarship Awards of up to £10,000 for university students worldwide focusing on any aspect of Asian or African textiles and dress. Undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from any accredited university are eligible, provided their research or practice is clearly linked to these areas. The next round of Scholarship Award applications opens on 1 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 on July 15, 2025.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian leaders recognised in King's birthday honours list

Professor Jagtar Singh (Photo: Facebook)

Asian leaders recognised in King's birthday honours list

ASIAN health workers, academics, charity workers and campaigners are among those who have been recognised in the King’s birthday honours list announced tonight (13).

More than a thousand recipients have been awarded for their exceptional achievements, with a particular focus on those who have given their time to public service, according to the Cabinet Office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India

A view shows the wreckage of the tail section of an Air India aircraft, bound for London's Gatwick Airport, which crashed during take-off from airport in Ahmedabad. (Photo: Reuters)

Air India crash: Probe focuses on engine and flaps; safety checks ordered for 787 fleet

THE INVESTIGATION into the Air India crash that killed more than 240 people is focusing on the aircraft's engine, flaps, and landing gear.

The Indian aviation regulator has ordered safety checks on the airline’s entire Boeing 787 fleet, reported Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thunderstorms to Hit East & South-East England; Met Office

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption

Getty Images

Thunderstorms to hit East and South-East England as Met Office issues amber warning

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of eastern and south-eastern England, in effect from 20:00 BST on Friday to 05:00 on Saturday. The affected area spans from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Cromer in north Norfolk.

The warning indicates a high risk of disruption, with flash flooding, power cuts, and hazardous travel conditions expected. The Met Office warns that flooding of homes and businesses is likely, and delays or cancellations to bus and rail services are possible due to surface water and lightning strikes.

Keep ReadingShow less