LPT: Walmart now installing 'self-checkout' cameras, don't forget to cover them as you check out to avoid Facial Recognition association with your name

156  2017-09-09 by 0xFEEDFACECAFEBEAF

144 comments

I believe you but can you post a source good sir

Just look straight ahead at the "mirror" at eye level and smile

I work in automation. It's blatantly obvious but no proof.

LPT: Don't shop at Walmart.

The real LPT is always in the comments.

I don't have a choice where I live. Wal-Mart is a monopoly.

Wal-Mart has literally gentrified a city in my state lol.

Just that you know what gentrified means makes me fall in love with yoi

I might just watch too much South Park lol.

I say gentrified because it's the closest example of what happened to the town of Bentonville compared to the surrounding regions. Since the Walmart bigwigs are forced there from time to time they want to make sure it is up to speed for them. It's got a rocking art museum now though, and they bring in celebrities for shows and have a giant film festival every year.

We've got a poor oil/chemical town that has a near 5 star restaurant as one of the 6 sit down restaurants in the town. Guess where all the suits go to talk business, a block away from the citizens who currently are trying to sue said business men for one of their chemical plant explosions 3 years back.

I guess I'm glad they can find a good steak though 🤷

That crystal bridges museum is pretty incredible. They probably dumped an insane amount of money into that place. Hundreds of millions

Know where there at.....

Been to most? Which one?

The walmart bigwigs are there from time to time? That's literally their home office. They are almost always there.

Pretty low standards, eh?

Lol I was really tired when I wrote that. I'm not in love with you.

And yes most people in real life do not know what gentrified means.

They have people that they pay to check your purchases for you. I want a check and insurance if I check myself out.

And dental

Drive to the next town

I live 2 hours away from the next town

Amen!

Its a terrible experience anyways.

If I was on fire and they were giving out free extinguishers, I still wouldn't go there.

Target has them too.

The quality is absolute garbage. Say what you will about others but it's a lot easier to shop for quality inexpensive things online. WalMart is headed the way of Kmart and Sears eventually.

Thats why they are being converted into fema camps.

You know they track you from the moment you walk into store, to the moment you're off the property, yeah? Its how their queue management system works. If they were so minded, they could just match till records to your face as you go through the checkout.

They don't need your face. They just want your demographic and purchase history.

They don't need your face

That is correct.

They just want your demographic and purchase history.

That is incorrect. They want it matched up with your face.

No they don't lol. There's no need to have the face, once they have your demographic information/purchasing history/shopping pattern and behaviors. They wouldn't give two fucks how you look, so long as they have the gold on you.

He just said they don't need the face, but they want it.

No they don't lol

How is not needed ur face correct but you need ur face matched up

They may not need your face, but any extra data is data they can sell to the highest bidder. It's not as though they're drawing lines to protect people's privacies (even if those lines would already be way past what most people think is okay).

this.

who goes to walmart to self checkout? It's like a double whammy on the economy. Not only are you shitting on small mom and pop stores, you are doing the job that could be done by some cashier.

I go through self checkout when I have one item and no lines are open, but when at all possible, give the work to one of your neighbors.

But where do you draw the line when considering efficiency and the job market? How far do you go to ensure job security for all? No waiting in line to buy food at McDonalds... waitresses take your order and bring the food to the table? No more driving your own car... Always hire a chauffeur? Abolish sewing machines... all clothes must be hand stitched?

:) I am saying if you have to goto walmart, let someone check out your groceries. You don't goto McDonalds and make your McDouble. So why not let some low paid cashier get the work is my point. It doesn't cost me anything extra yet it helps keep others working.

I dunno what yer Wal*Marts are like, but around here there ain't ever a cashier just standing around with nothing to do.. except the Jewelry dept... thats my protip... checkout at Jewelry, Photo Lab, or Customer Service.

Yeah that sounds like a practical, effective way for an economy to operate... /s

No shit the economy's fucked up, but little things like this certainly can't hurt and can even help individuals keep the jobs they need. It's no long term fix, but what's the harm?

It’a self serving, because it ultimately makes no difference. People are going to use them. I think it is unethical to try and moralize technological progress.

Can't wait til you're laid off, due to automation...

Clearly that won’t happen thanks to people like you

fine, go checkout your own stuff. Help walmart hire fewer people.

As soon as Walmart can automate the process, it will. You can’t stop progress. How would you suggest that it isn’t inevitable? There’s no moralizing to be had.

in the mean time, TODAY, if 20% of all purchased goods sold at Walmart come through self checkouts, that means 20% fewer cashiers making a paycheck is what I am saying.

I am not talking about in the future. When we are shopping at WalAmazon, sure, it will be automated. But today, it doesn't have to be.

Well I don’t live in a vacuum nor desire to spent my time and effort fighting windmills so that people can keep shitty jobs. You’re fighting the wrong battle

I might be, but if my small effort helps someone keep their shitty job vs not having one - so be it.

Dude's profile is a little suspect. Either he's got Rogen entitlement or he's a very subtle shill. Although, I believe Rogen is an operative; angry at the system, but arrogant enough to keep people dependent on the foma...

I just think it’s moronic to pay yourself on the back and say you helped someone keep a job by not using self-checkout. Like it’s a childish understanding of how the world works.

You're right, why do anything helpful because in the future it might not mean anything massively meaningful?

Great life you're suggesting here, for everyone.

It’s not helpful. It makes no difference. Use self checkout and donate all the time you save me volunteer in your community.

If nobody uses self checkouts they wont replace cashiers.

They aren’t going to give us a choice. When every line is 7 people deep will full carts, I literally cannot wait that long sometimes. They will lead us like the cattle they we are to where they want us to go. Machines don’t need benefits, or raises, or time off.

I go to large stores towards the end of the day, so I dont deal with lines much. If that isnt an option, I guess you have to make the chioce that works best for you.

Walmart.com still has warehouse workers, plus the demand for the delivery services.

So... you’re agreeing with me?

No, I'm saying convenience still employs people.

THats because Walmart has like 3 cashiers on. I can’t checkout at Walmart in less than 30 mins usually, so self-checkout is faster tbh

This is absolutely true even before they installed self checkouts in my area.

Fuck Wal-Mart with their bullshit. That company is a cancer.

Bullshit? A cancer?? Peopleofwalmart.com is Pure Gold.

You really only strengthen my argument.

For some, maybe.

Poor people use it to scam produce. They grab the good apples and enter the code for like corn or cheaper apples.

Good. Like Wal-Mart needs those extra cents.

Those poor people are just terrible. I am so glad that others are watching out for the evil poor people.

I didn't say they were terrible, they aren't. They are just using the system to their advantage since their circumstances aren't doing them any favors.

I was just providing an example of the behavior I've seen, and often talked about on the poorer sides of Facebook in my area. They actually share the codes for the cheapest produce. I'm not policing poor people or putting a neighborhood watch on them. I'm just interacting and talking with them lol.

Pretty amoral

Not my place to judge.

Ok so moral relativism

I do that at all places that allow this sort of behavior. Oh you got some coffee that's 49.99 a LB? lets get about 3lbs of that and throw the 4.99 upc code on it.

3 lb ≈ 1.4 kg

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Yeah, it's not like the employees care. They are more focused on the shoddy machines they have to go clear everytime someone misclicks an items or the weight alert goes off lol.

Good for you! I try to never do self-checkout. A job's a job, especially now. They don't need my help automating another one.

Self check out is always closed when I go in, lines always back to the merchandise too.

I go there after work at night because they're about the only place open and self checkout is all they got. Super annoying

I use daily to have this exact same mindset, until a friend turned it on its head for me...he said he thought the self check out was awesome, and that the more mundane jobs we can eliminate the better. He added, "just look in the eyes of someone who's been standing at a cash register for 8 hours...it's sad bro, they have so much more potential than that."

Absolutely they have more potential, but as someone who's had to have jobs below me that were incredibly depressing and frustrating, a lot of times it's better to have that job than no job at all.

Unless you're in a position to offer these people better jobs with pay and benefits, who are you to decide for them that their job should be eliminated sooner, just because you think it will be basically for their own good?

Well I'm not really deciding it, tech is...I'm just saying people should adapt and we should build systems that allow for us to overall work less, because we can...don't be a Luddite.

I think their eyes are sad because how crappy their lives are, and how these meager jobs are helping them stay afloat. But your friend's perspective is interesting - saying the job is the cause of their inner death.

Lots of these people cashiering are seniors that can't work too many other jobs.

Yeahs cause its not tragic that so many seniors now have to work until they die

It is tragic, hence why it is important to not steal their jobs by doing self checkout,

In what world would it be more profitable for Walmart to fire all of their cashiers instead of cross training them into a different role. I would imagine that their cashiers are already crosstrained.

You think your choice impacts ANYONES job is literally an act of masturbation.

Ok, agree to disagree. You think cross training means they have the same number of people hired, when it does not. If they have X jobs, and then subtract cashier jobs, they will be at (X-cashier#) jobs. So the town is out that many jobs.

What? Cross-training can also mean that you train someone into a new role if you are planning to phase out an old one.

Eliminating jobs is often more expensive than to divert those Human Resources elsewhere.

ok. Do the math. If the local walmart has 100 jobs slots they hire for, and they decided to cut out 25 cashiers as an available job position, they are going to have 75 jobs they hire for - they aren't all of a sudden going to have 100 job slots.

So they reduce their par for cashiers by 25. That doesn’t mean someone loses a job. That means there are fewer new cashier jobs available. Maybe That doesn’t mean 25 people get fired or laid off.

so you think those 25 people, the ex cashiers, will get positions filling the other 75 positions.

Is that what you are saying?

If Walmart is smart that’s what will happen. Or they will create new positions to better serve shoppers, since now they don’t have to hire cashiers.

Have you ever sat through an unemployment hearing?

Have you ever been responsible for hiring a reliable, dependable employee?

Phasing our jobs and then just letting people go rarely would make any kind of business sense.

I just think you’re interpretation of this whole situation is simplistic and alarmist.

ok

"Lots of these people cashiering are seniors that can't work too many other jobs."

And they shouldn't have to....modern society is absolutely efficient enough to provide basic living necessities and dignity to these individuals.

But it isn't, else these old ones wouldn't be working now, would they?

Wrong, sufficient resources are just not allocated towards their care. Quite a few trillions have been spent unnecessarily by the pentagon instead on all manner of things.

well, that's a whole other debate completely unrelated to the discussion about walmart self checkout implications to employees.

No, it's a very related argument: society is efficient enough to care for people's basic necessities, but they aren't because vast sums of money aren't allocated towards it when they could be.

Also, they are tracking you by your use of Wifi. Don't connect to their wifi if you can avoid it, and if you do - make sure you disconnect the network when done so it doesn't auto-connect each time you enter the store..

I believe it connects to each one regardless of whether the system UI shows you. That's why things still have any outdated Bluetooth tech in them

They can track phones via Bluetooth, wifi doesn't matter. Look into the tech Apple is bringing about. A lot of Bluetooth tech for location detecting indoors

Yup, Wifi, Mac Address, and Target ties their red debit card in there too.

More info for those curious.

Just pretend there wasn't already 9 cameras pointing at you the whole time, before that

Yeah, every checkout has it's own camera, this is not a new thing.

Or the 80 that have tracked you throughout the entire atore

And the parking lot...not even your car is anonymous these days.

Or even your own cellphone

I always get amused when I accidentally keep the location setting on my phone active, do some errands and suddenly my phone wants me to review every store I visited.

If you turn it off all its doing is not presenting the info to you anymore, its not actually stopping logging your location. If the government has access to it regardless you might as well just leave it on for yourself. It's at least useful for me to see where I visited and when, if I can't remember something.

Yeah i just leave it on and do the google survey rewards. They already know everything about me. Might as well get some free music or books.

this is true, but I believe its more as a security measure for the registers. I doubt they ever implemented systems that went back and synced up credit card purchases with the corresponding video. These Self Checkout cameras that are right in your face and are brand new could very well be hooked into the POS system to record a snapshot corresponding to the payment method used.

The logical part of me would tell me that its just to prevent theft at self checkouts since its easy to slide something extra into the bag.

But the skeptic in me dreams up much more nefarious reasons.

I doubt they ever implemented systems that went back and synced up credit card purchases with the corresponding video.

You're not watching security footage enough, there are systems out there that show the register activity on the video as they happen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaUGApuR40M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnBqTBXoP8w

Target has them too

Just came across these. Creepy as fuck. If they want to make sure I avoid them, then they've succeeded. The thing I wanted to buy was twice as expensive as on Amazon anyway, so choice is even easier.

If you think that Target is creepy then don't even look into what Amazon is doing.

Oh I know it's bad, but they're cheaper and won't insult me to me face (by putting a screen with my face on it in front of me).

I worked AP at Target less than a month ago, we had these Self Checkout cameras, however they were unable to be viewed in Security Desk (our CCTV viewing software). This means that these cameras essentially were unable to be viewed, and having set them up, they're not even connected to the server meaning no video is saved for review. If you're worried about this, you should worry more about the Public View camera as you come in, and the exit vestibule camera as you leave. If I wanted to know who you were all I would have to do is review your transaction and read the name associated with your card.

I'm 6'4". They only get my chest.

Home Depot has these as well.

I do a prolonged squat so all it sees are my nimble hands and follicles

What name info do they get if you're paying cash?

Speaking of Walmart, the people who generally shop there are mindless drones. They park their carts sideways in the aisles, stop dead in their tracks as they walk through the entrance with a bunch of people behind them, try to bring their cart that's overstuffed with junk food into the washrooms, have no idea what they want or where they are in the store, double park in the parking lot, block the exit as they look over their receipt for any errors, etc etc. I could go on forever. The place is a nightmare to shop in.

Yes, must be their medications at work.

Just FYI self checkout at Target has cameras as well!

GOD FUCKNIG DAMNN! now i can't but steaks as bananas anymore. fucking REEEEEEEEE!

Is that a sarcastic autistic screech? How ironic

If you have ever used a smartphone,they have your face and name. None of this is new..it is only being told to you now.

damn I noticed these at Target recently. Paid with a credit card. Fuck.

Were fucked

It's easy to avoid Walmart if you try.

The Target near me has these too. I'm always looking at myself as i check out.

I hate to break it to some people but they have everyone's name and face in a recognition system already.

Android already identifies everyone in your image gallery on your phone. It will ask you the name of someone and if you call them "John" all you have to do is type John and it will search every picture you have for that person's face.

I'm sure many of you already know the above info. I'm just saying they already have your prints and face.

They have always had them. When they first rolled out it was super easy to pretend to swipe something and put it in the bag. If it wouldn't scan after 5 tries, in the bag it goes. Then they got someone to monitor all the self check out lanes. now cameras. Never Tht of the whole facial recognition thing. I guess its the same with all ATM's too :/

They also put them in some of the isles. They have lights and a monitor attached to the setup. It seems rather high tech for security measures. Its also got more than 1 camera on it.

Theres also a monitor thats attached to the setup so you can recognize your getting filmed but the location of the monitor and our obsession with screens almost assures youll look directly at it giving a full view of the face.

I've noticed them, but I'm 6'5" and have never seen my face in them

They do this to recognize shoplifters who try to come back later. Lmao @ thinking there's some evil secret database. If you have a driver's license the government already has your name and picture.

Don't use self checkout, ever. You're making the use of computers/robots more profitable for companies. Walmart's already dicking over thier employees.

You swear like you couldn't be identified by the DMV. The only reason they (Walmart) could connect your face to a name is if you paid with a debit/credit card. Chances are your name can be traced to you credit/debt card. Which means you can be easily searched by any law enforcement agency which will pull your record and have access to DMV records, including your picture. Meaning-Cameras at a check stand don't change a thing as you can be recognized in other ways

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Got a driver's license?

And don't be in a WalMart when FEMA closes the doors.

I mean if you shop online they can just easily find your face

how so? i cover my web cam.. and I don't use windows. you're wrong

Your payment information, I'm not talking about spyware. Give me your payment info and an address and anyone can find who you are

i use amex gift cards online. you think im that stupid?? lol

Is that a sarcastic autistic screech? How ironic

Pretty amoral

so you think those 25 people, the ex cashiers, will get positions filling the other 75 positions.

Is that what you are saying?

well, that's a whole other debate completely unrelated to the discussion about walmart self checkout implications to employees.