Voice Recognition & Privacy – Class Action Investigation

Voice recognition technology is increasingly used across a wide variety of devices including smartphones, healthcare apps, banking apps and cars, to enhance consumer use. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are replacing fingerprint scanners and keypads with touchless authorization technologies, such as voice recognition, as the primary form of authentication. While voice recognition technology eases the consumer experience, important privacy and security concerns are implicated.

Voice printing, also known as voice biometrics, is the use of an one’s voice to verify the individual’s identity without requiring a passcode. Unlike passwords or Social Security numbers, a person’s voiceprint cannot be changed if it is later compromised by an unauthorized party. Since voice related data qualifies as biometric information and, in turn, personal information, it receives protection under the Biometric Information Privacy Act of Illinois. Accordingly, a business that wants to use voice recognition technology must inform a user that their voiceprint is being collected and stored, disclose the purpose for such collection and storage, and obtain the user’s consent.

If you use voice recognition, in any context, to authenticate your identity, and you were not told that your voiceprint is being collected or stored, we encourage you to contact the attorney(s) below to help you understand your legal rights.