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  2. Travel
  3. Frequently Asked Questions
  4. What role has biometric technology played in TSA’s response to COVID-19?

What role has biometric technology played in TSA’s response to COVID-19?

TSA prioritizes the health and safety of our officers and the traveling public. 

Some of our Travel Document Checker positions offer travelers the ability to insert their own ID cards and passports into readers. Personal devices with digital IDs and mobile driver’s licenses should always be presented by the traveler and should never be handled by the TSA officer.

Some of our Travel Document Checker positions also have Plexiglas panels to retard the airflow between travelers and officers. 

TSA PreCheck® Touchless Identity Solution, currently in operational assessment, eliminates the need for travelers to present a passport, ID card, or personal device with a digital ID. Instead, the traveler volunteers to allow TSA to match their live photo with a stored photo from a passport or other source document. (Travelers should always carry a physical form of acceptable ID.) For travelers opting in to TSA PreCheck Touchless Identity Solution, their face is their ID.