Security Systems
Biometric access control in Kent
Fingerprint and facial recognition entry, installed with the legal side explained first, because biometric data carries duties a fob simply does not.
- Free estimates
- Insurance work undertaken
- Domestic & commercial
Read this before you buy a fingerprint reader
Biometric data used to identify a person uniquely is SPECIAL CATEGORY data under UK GDPR, in the same tier as health and religious belief. That is not a technicality and it is the single most important thing about these systems, yet it is rarely mentioned by anybody selling one.
The practical consequence is that a fingerprint reader on a staff door needs more than a decision that it would be convenient. You need a lawful basis under Article 6 AND a separate special category condition under Article 9. In an employment setting that is usually the employment law condition with proper safeguards, or explicit consent, and consent only really works where using the system is genuinely optional.
A data protection impact assessment is expected for high-risk biometric processing, and workplace biometric access control generally is. The ICO has also been clear that staff should be offered a suitable alternative, so a system where the fingerprint is the only way in is the one most likely to cause you a problem.
So should you use it at all
Sometimes yes. Biometrics genuinely solve the problem of credentials being shared, lost or passed round, which fobs and codes do not. On a site where knowing exactly who opened a door actually matters, that is worth something real.
But for a lot of buildings the honest answer is that a fob or a card does the job with none of the obligations. If the reason for wanting biometrics is that it feels more modern, we will say so. We would rather fit a card system you can run without a DPIA than sell you something that becomes somebody's compliance headache in a year.
If it is the right answer, what good looks like
Specified properly, most of the risk is designed out at the start.
- A non-biometric alternative available to anyone who does not want to use it
- Templates stored rather than images, and stored on the controller rather than in somebody's cloud
- A clear retention rule, so a leaver's biometric data actually goes
- A DPIA done before deployment rather than after a complaint
- Documented reasoning for why biometrics rather than a card
- Integration with the rest of the access system, so one system governs the doors
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is a fingerprint door entry system legal in the UK?
Yes, and it comes with duties a fob does not. Biometric data for identifying someone is special category data under UK GDPR, so you need a lawful basis under Article 6 and a separate condition under Article 9, and a data protection impact assessment is expected for workplace use. It is entirely doable. It is just not something to install without deciding those things first.
Do we have to offer staff an alternative?
In practice yes, and the ICO has been clear about it. If you are relying on consent, consent is not meaningful when the alternative is not getting into the building. Even where you rely on the employment condition instead, offering a card or fob to anyone who objects is the sensible design and removes most of the argument.
Where is the fingerprint data stored?
On a well-specified system, as a mathematical template on the controller rather than as an image, and ideally not in a third party's cloud. That is worth asking any supplier directly, because where the data lives determines who else is processing it and what happens if that company changes its service or disappears.
Would a fob system do the same job?
For a lot of buildings, yes, and we will tell you when that is the case. Fobs are revocable in seconds and carry none of the special category obligations. What they cannot do is stop somebody handing their credential to a colleague. If that specific problem is what you are solving, biometrics earn their place; if it is not, they usually do not.
Can you integrate it with our existing access control?
Usually, depending on what is installed. It is much better than running biometrics as a separate island, because one system governing the doors means one place to add and remove people, and a leaver actually loses everything at once. We would look at the existing system before recommending anything.
Free estimates
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No up-selling, just simple honest advice. Domestic and commercial work across Aylesford, Maidstone, Medway, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Bromley.