Sonder Illegally Captures Facial Scans of Illinois Renters, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Sonder Holdings Inc. illegally captures as part of its ID verification and check-in process the facial geometry scans of Illinois residents and customers who rent its Chicago properties.

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The 10-page lawsuit alleges Sonder has violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by failing to obtain consent and provide certain disclosures before collecting, storing, disseminating and using the face scans of Illinois renters. Per the case, this data is extracted from the government-issued IDs Sonder asks consumers to provide when booking accommodations so the company can verify their identities during check-in.

Also named as a defendant is Persona Identities Inc., which the complaint says is a third-party service provider with whom Sonder contracts to capture, store and compare customers’ face geometries to their in-person faces when they check into rentals.

According to the suit, the companies failed to obtain prior written permission from Illinois customers to collect, store, disseminate and use their biometric information. Sonder and Persona also failed to properly inform residents in writing of the specific purpose and length of time for which their face scans would be collected, stored, disseminated and used, the filing claims.

The lawsuit specifies that the BIPA was enacted in 2008 to regulate private companies’ handling of Illinois residents’ biometric information, including retina and iris scans, voiceprints, fingerprints, and scans of hand and face geometry. The state law was designed to address the “serious and irreversible” privacy risks that come with the storage of biometrics, which cannot be changed if compromised, the complaint explains.

“For example, if a database containing biometric data is hacked, breached, or otherwise exposed, the subjects 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 filing stresses.

Per the suit, Sonder manages more than 9,000 short-term rentals in over 40 cities worldwide, with at least eight properties in Chicago.

The Sonder class action lawsuit looks to represent anyone who either has an Illinois address or rented accommodations at a Sonder location in the state and whose biometric information was captured or used by Persona as contractor for Sonder within the past five years.

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