Britons are open to facial recognition technology (FRT) in specific, security-focused settings, but are reluctant to support its use more broadly, new research from Face Int UK has revealed. 

Face Int UK commissioned Opinium to survey 2,000 UK adults about attitudes towards FRT and its use across different sectors and scenarios.

When given a list of scenarios in which facial recognition could be used, border control gained the most support, with 81% of respondents saying they are in favour of FRT being deployed here. 

Support also remains high for use by police and security forces (73%), identity checks by banks (71%) and access to secured physical sites (70%). There is also public acceptance of facial recognition in consumer technology, with 67% supporting its use to unlock smartphones and laptops. 

Lower benefit = lower support

However, support is lower in settings where the benefit may be less immediately clear, with only 54% backing its use by retailers for security purposes and fewer than half (47%) supporting its use in schools. 

More generally, just over half (53%) of UK adults say FRT should only be deployed where there is a clear public benefit and strong safeguards in place.

Tony Kounnis, CEO of Face Int UK, said: “The findings show that public attitudes towards facial recognition are far more nuanced than people often assume – it’s too simple to say that people support the use of the technology or they don’t.

There is clearly support for the technology in environments where security is at a premium and the benefit is easy to understand, such as border control, banking and access to secured sites.

“But support is also highly conditional. People are making clear distinctions between how and where FRT is used, and they expect it to be deployed responsibly and with strong safeguards in place. That is an important message for businesses and public institutions alike.

“The use of FRT must be accompanied by a clear explanation of why it is being used, what problem it is solving and how people’s data is being protected.”