Onfido Facial Scan and Voice Recording Policy

LAST UPDATED: 19 December 2023

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This Onfido Facial Scan and Voice Recording Policy (“Facial Scan Policy”) applies to users located in the United States. This Facial Scan Policy describes how Onfido Inc. and its affiliate companies* (collectively, “Onfido”) treats data from photos/videos of your face and audio recordings of your voice, including data that may be construed as a scan of face geometry or voiceprint extracted from photos/videos that are submitted to Onfido (“Scan Data”) and information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on your Scan Data that is used to identify you (“Scan Information”). Scan Data and Scan Information (collectively, “Biometric Data”) may be considered to be biometric identifiers or biometric information by applicable biometric privacy laws.

This Facial Scan Policy should be read in conjunction with Onfido’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy which describe Onfido’s services and use of personal data, including sensitive personal data, in more detail. Notwithstanding any indication to the contrary, in Onfido’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Service or any other document or policy, the terms of this Facial Scan Policy shall prevail in the event of any inconsistency with other terms or notices provided to you.

Why Onfido is using Biometric Data: You are likely reading this Facial Scan Policy because you have been directed to it by a company that owns or operates a website or app that you are trying to use or some other service you wish to access (“Company”). This Company is an Onfido client. Onfido helps its clients to verify their users’ identities so the users can access the Company’s services quickly, easily and securely. At the Company’s request, Onfido, and its service providers named below (“Providers”), will collect, capture, obtain, possess, store, use, process, discloss and re-disclose (“Processes”) Biometric Data on the Company’s behalf, for the purposes of:

Verifying your identity by comparing facial Biometric Data extracted from the photo/video of your face, to facial Biometric Data extracted from the photo in your identity document;
Authenticating you and your use of the Company’s services by comparing facial Biometric Data from a reference image (for example, an image you provided to the Company when you signed up for an account or the photo in your identity document), to the facial Biometric Data extracted from a new photo/video of your face;
Analyzing Biometric Data to detect and prevent fraud, including to determine whether Onfido has previously verified your identity and/or to identify signs of coercion or social engineering;
Evaluating the authenticity of images and videos and identity documents, including detecting whether there is a genuine human or physical document in your photos/videos or signs of tampering; and
Improving and developing Onfido’s services, where permitted by applicable law.

In addition to the Biometric Data, Onfido will Process other personal data, including sensitive personal data, (for example IP address and other data about your device and personal data extracted from your identity document e.g. name, date of birth etc) (“Personal Data”) for the purposes listed above. See Onfido’s Privacy Policy for more information.

Onfido will use reasonable standards of care, consistent with its industry, to store, transmit, and protect from disclosure your Biometric Data, in a manner that is the same as or more protective than the manner in which it stores, transmits, and protects other confidential and sensitive information. Onfido will not sell, lease, trade, or, other than for the purposes described in this Policy, otherwise profit from Biometric Data.

Retention of your Biometric Data: Onfido stores and uses the Biometric Data described above for a maximum of three-hundred and sixty (360) days after you or the Company submitted photos/videos of your face and/or identity document to Onfido, or a shorter retention period set by the Company. After this, it permanently destroys your Biometric Data, unless otherwise required by law or legal process to retain the data. Onfido stores all photos/videos (including audio recordings) for up to three (3) years after submission of photos/videos of your face and/or identity document to Onfido, at which time they are permanently destroyed, unless otherwise required by law or legal process to retain the materials.

You will be asked whether you consent to the use of your Biometric Data as described above (see more below). If you do not consent, or if Onfido cannot otherwise complete the identity and fraud checks (for example, if you close the app/browser without completing all necessary steps), Onfido will not extract Biometric Data from your photos/videos or audio recordings, Process your Biometric Data, or verify or authenticate your identity. Onfido will store a record of the partially completed process and any photos/videos (including audio recordings) in accordance with the instructions of the Company up to a maximum of three (3) years from the time you terminated the process. After this time Onfido will permanently destroy your photos/videos (including audio recordings), unless otherwise required by law or legal process to retain the materials.

Disclosure of your Biometric Data: When Processing your Biometric Data on behalf of the Company, Onfido will only disclose, redisclose or otherwise disseminate Biometric Data in the following circumstances:

In accordance with the Company’s instructions, to complete a Company transaction and as requested and authorized by you or your legally authorized representative;
To complete a financial transaction requested or authorized by you or your legally authorized representative;
As required by state or federal law, or municipal ordinance;
As required pursuant to a warrant or subpoena issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
To a third-party Provider acting on Onfido’s behalf, namely Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited (whose technology is used to convert your audio recording into written text (“Speech to Text”)) and Amazon Web Services (who provides another Speech to Text service as well as Onfido’s cloud storage); or
As expressly consented to by you or your authorized representative.

Onfido is in no way linked to or responsible for the practices of the Company or Providers. Onfido encourages you to read the Company’s and any Provider’s privacy policies and terms and conditions which may apply to the use of Biometric Data.

Your consent: BY CLICKING ON THE “ACCEPT” BUTTON, YOU AGREE THAT YOU: (1) HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND ACCEPT THIS ONFIDO FACIAL SCAN POLICY AND ONFIDO’S TERMS OF SERVICE; (2) GRANT CONSENT TO ONFIDO, THE COMPANY AND PROVIDERS TO PROCESS YOUR BIOMETRIC DATA AND OTHER PERSONAL DATA FOR THE PURPOSES DESCRIBED IN THIS ONFIDO FACIAL SCAN POLICY; (3) RELEASE IN FAVOUR OF ONFIDO, THE COMPANY, AND THE PROVIDERS ANY CLAIMS RELATED TO YOUR BIOMETRIC DATA, PHOTO/VIDEO (INCLUDING AUDIO RECORDINGS); AND (4) CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE NOT ACCESSING ONFIDO’S SERVICES IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE THE SERVICES ARE NOT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

Duration and withdrawal of your consent: If you consent, your consent will last for 6 months and will cover any Processing that takes during that period of your personal data (including Biometric Data) by Onfido and Providers on behalf of the Company for the purposes described above. If you consent now but would like to later withdraw your consent, please contact the Company as described in the Company’s privacy policy.

*Onfido affiliate companies

Onfido Ltd 14-18 Finsbury Square, 3rd Floor, London, England, EC2A 1AH
Onfido SAS Regus La Defense Tour Ariane, 5 place de la Pyramide, 92088 Paris La Defense Cedex
Onfido Inc Paracorp Incorporated, 2140 South Dupont Highway, Camden, Delaware 19934
Onfido GmbH Am Kaiserkai 69, 20457 Hamburg
Onfido Unipessoal Avenida D João II, n°46 - 4A, 1990-095 Lisboa
Onfido Services India Private Limited Unit No. 9, Corporate Park II, 9th floor, VN Purav Marg, Near Swastik Chambers, Chembur, Mumbai - 400071
Onfido PTE Ltd 100 Tras Street, #16-01, 100 AM, Singapore (079027)
Onfido BV Ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Floor, Joop Geesinkweg 901-999, Amsterdam-Duivendrecht, 1114 AB, Netherlands