I’m in a bit of a bind. I have to get TSA PreCheck, but I really don’t want to give up my biometric data to the government. I’ve read that TSA PreCheck requires my fingerprints and possibly my photo (it’s unclear). Interesting, though, is that when you’re enrolled in PreCheck you do not get fingerprinted when passing through the airport.
So, I plan to fill in my fingerprints with superglue when I sign up for PreCheck. Weak fingerprints are a condition that affect a lot of people – construction and farm workers, chemo patients, or some people just have it genetically – so I don’t think it will be too weird if my fingerprints don’t show up well in the scan. From what I’ve read (FlyerTalk, Washington Post) you can still get PreCheck even if you have weak fingerprints. And, since they don’t check my fingerprints at the airport, I’m not worried about ever having to match this scan.
My face is effectively a lost cause at this point, so I’m not gonna sweat that one.
My questions.
- Is there any reason my fingerprint plan won’t work?
- The PreCheck sign-up process is run by private companies (Idemia, Telos, Clear) and I can choose which one to use. I am going to rule out Clear. Is there any advantage between using Idemia or Telos?
- Is there anything else I should know before signing up?
EDIT: Wow, these replies are so useless, I had to check to make sure I wasn’t on reddit!
I’m confused by the goal and the plan. You have to get pre check for your job, but you find it invasive. So you ruin one of the biometric samples they take? Won’t they look at it more carefully? I doubt they will just throw their handd in the air and say fuck it
It seems like getting caught having tried to obscure your fingerprints would be bad. How does one fill them in without it looking like you have a mess of glue on your fingers? Is there some technique for making it smooth so that you don’t produce prints that look obviously messed with?
They definitely want your photo. They will photograph / scan your face everytime you fly.
They definitely want your photo. They will photograph / scan your face everytime you fly.
This is already the case.
How does one fill them in without it looking like you have a mess of glue on your fingers
A simple layer of superglue.
Bear in mind that many modern fingerprint readers can work through even a latex glove, defeating non-destructive attempts to obscure fingerprints.
Also, a wet, wrinkly fingerprint is usually not recognized unless it is itself also enrolled on a fingerprint reader. Perhaps too anecdotal and conspicuous, but I’ll throw it out there too.
This is already the case.
You can opt out of TSA facial recognition and CBP facial recognition
Have you ever applied a layer of paint, finish, or glue to something? Getting a smooth, uniform layer of a coating is not a no-brainer. I would expect uneveness, brush marks, etc.
It’s really funny to see everyone here fish for reasons this can’t work
Why is that funny? If you want something to work and there are bad consequences to it not working, fishing for reasons it might not work is exactly what you need to do.
Fingerprints are the least invasive of biometrics imo. If your fingerprints are weak the govt may put you under more scrutiny “just in case” and I think that would be a much greater violation of your privacy
Prints prove you were in a place just like an airport camera and airline records would. As long as your phone/computer etc isn’t unlocked via fingerprint that’s really all it can be used for on most cases. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t ideal and I see your point of wanting to avoid giving that away regardless
This is silly. You are either going to get in trouble or it simply won’t work. Most airports are going to force you to do facial recognition anyway when you go to show them your ID.
If your fingerprints don’t show up well enough they just won’t pass you for precheck. You don’t get to falsely claim its a condition and they go “oh OK”.
Actually, if you read either of the links provided above, you’ll see that that’s exactly what happens
One is paywalled and one just gives me a blocked page.
Give it a try and update the post. If I was a betting man I’d bet it won’t work.
Not an answer to your question, but it would be interesting to see how much those companies already have on all of us already since the TSA sometimes hands out a free trial of PreCheck without any action on the traveller’s part.