Class Action Says Brilliant Earth’s ‘Virtual Try-On’ Tool Unlawfully Captures Illinois Users’ Biometric Data

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Brilliant Earth Group faces a proposed class action that alleges the fine jewelry company has failed to obtain Illinois consumers’ consent before collecting their hand geometry data through its online “virtual try-on” feature. 

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The 14-page lawsuit was filed by an Illinois consumer who used the virtual try-on tool on BrilliantEarth.com approximately 100 times from January through October 2022 to see how various engagement rings would look on her hand. The case alleges that Brilliant Earth’s tool secretly captures users’ hand geometry scans without their authorization, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA).

The complaint explains that consumers browsing rings on Brilliant Earth’s website from a smartphone web browser are invited to “try on” the products after they customize certain features, like the type and size of the diamond. Consumers are instructed to either upload or take a picture of the back of their hand “with fingers slightly apart,” the suit relays.

Unbeknownst to consumers, however, the try-on tool captures and collects scans of their hand geometry, which the BIPA categorizes as biometric data, information that is “biologically unique” to each person and can be “used to identify an individual,” the filing claims. The suit claims Brilliant Earth was prohibited from collecting, using or storing biometric identifiers—which, other than hand scans, include such as retina or iris scans, fingerprints, voiceprints or face geometry scans— without first obtaining a written release from each consumer.

The lawsuit contends that Brilliant Earth has further violated the BIPA by failing to inform consumers in writing that their biometric information was being collected or stored, as well as of the “specific purpose and length of term for which such biometric identifiers or information are being collected, stored, and used.” The company also failed to develop a publicly available written policy establishing a retention schedule and guidelines for permanently destroying consumers’ biometric identifiers, the filing says.

According to the case, Brilliant Earth’s privacy policy “does not inform the user how the user’s hand geometry … is collected, used, or retained in order to allow the Virtual Try-On feature to operate or otherwise.”

The lawsuit seeks to cover anyone in Illinois whose biometric identifiers were captured by Brilliant Earth through the virtual try-on feature on BrilliantEarth.com.

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