KEEP THOSE COMPLAINTS GOING….THIS IS ONLY A SMALL WIN…BUNNINGS CEO Claims this is for STAFF PROTECTION…you sir are a LIAR!!!…Bunnings, Kmart temporarily turn off facial recognition technology as privacy probe continues.

Retail giants Bunnings and Kmart have temporarily switched off use of facial recognition technology in their stores amid a probe by the nation’s privacy watchdog into how the companies were using it.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) confirmed earlier this month it had opened an investigation into how Bunnings and Kmart were handling customers’ personal information.

The investigations followed a report from consumer advocacy group Choice about the retailers’ use of the facial recognition technology.

Choice analysed the privacy policies of 25 major retailers and found The Good Guys, Kmart and Bunnings were recording their customers’ biometric data.

Facial recognition uses video cameras to analyse images and capture each person’s unique facial features, known as a faceprint. But Choice research found 76 per cent of Australians weren’t aware retailers were doing this despite there being signs up about it at the front of stores.

Bunnings temporarily turned off the technology in its stores earlier this year as it prepared to move to a new platform.

“Given an investigation is underway, we won’t be using it for the time being,” Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider said in a statement on Monday.

Bunnings has turned off the technology in its stores. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz