Jumio Facing Class Action Over Alleged Collection of Instacart Shoppers’ Facial Scans

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A proposed class action alleges Jumio, Inc. illegally collects, stores and disseminates the facial geometry scans of Instacart shoppers in Illinois.

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According to the 15-page privacy lawsuit, Instacart requires shoppers to upload a photo of themselves and their driver’s license before they can begin to deliver groceries for the app. The complaint explains that Instacart has defendant Jumio perform a “facial geometry analysis” of these pictures to verify shoppers’ identities, both during initial account setup and at “regular intervals” while they’re working.

However, Jumio, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), fails to inform residents and obtain consent prior to collecting, storing and sharing their face templates—“highly detailed” geometric maps of the face, the case claims.

The lawsuit alleges that Jumio is one of “numerous” third parties that process personal information for Instacart, all of whom have had shoppers’ facial geometry scans “disclosed, redisclosed or otherwise disseminated to them” by Jumio, the suit adds.

Per the filing, the BIPA was enacted to ensure that Illinois consumers have control over their biometric information, which consists of “unique, permanent” identifiers that cannot be replaced if compromised. The suit contends that Jumio’s “unlawful” collection of shoppers’ biometrics exposes them to “serious and irreversible privacy risks.”

“For example, if Jumio’s database containing facial geometry scans or other sensitive, proprietary biometric data is hacked, breached, or otherwise exposed, Jumio users have no means by which to prevent identity theft, unauthorized tracking, or other unlawful or improper use of this highly personal and private information,” the complaint stresses.

The plaintiff, an Illinois resident, says that neither Instacart nor Jumio made any mention of biometric information when she worked for the grocery delivery service.

“Instead, Instacart simply instructed [the plaintiff] to upload her state issued identification form, avatar photograph, and periodic verification photos as part of the onboarding and day-to-day job duties while working as shopper for Instacart,” the case shares.

The suit also claims that Jumio has run afoul of the BIPA by failing to inform Instacart shoppers in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their biometric information would be collected, stored and used. The company was also required to publish a retention schedule detailing how long the workers’ data would be kept and when it would be permanently destroyed, the filing relays.

The lawsuit looks to represent any Illinois residents who, within the last five years, had their biometric information collected by Jumio while using Instacart.

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