This Company Has Figured Out a Way to Make Face ID Invisible
(WIRED, May 04, 2026)
Metalenz has developed an under-display version of its Polar ID face-authentication system that could make secure facial recognition hardware effectively invisible on smartphones and laptops. The system uses optical metasurfaces and polarization data to distinguish a real human face from spoofing attempts such as high-quality 3D masks, while taking up less space than Apple’s TrueDepth Face ID hardware. Metalenz says Polar ID is ready for mass production and is expected to appear in consumer devices in 2027, with the under-display version likely arriving in 2028. The technology could give Android phone makers a more secure Face ID-style option without requiring a visible notch, pill, or large camera cutout.
Goodbye PIN: Fingerprint Payments Set to Change How Spain Pays
(Euro Weekly News, May 03, 2026)
Banks in Spain and across Europe are preparing to roll out biometric payment cards that allow customers to approve transactions with a fingerprint instead of entering a PIN. The cards would use a fingerprint sensor built into the card, with the biometric match performed locally on the chip rather than through a bank, retailer, or outside server. The rollout is being framed as a fraud-prevention and convenience measure, but PINs are not expected to disappear immediately, with biometric cards likely to be introduced gradually from late 2026 into 2027.
New Passport Rule Confirmed by Foreign Office for UK Travellers to Greece
(ChronicleLive, May 04, 2026)
UK travellers going to Greece are being advised about updated Foreign Office guidance tied to the EU Entry/Exit System, or EES. Although EES generally requires non-EU travellers to register biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images, Greece has indicated that it will not collect those biometrics from UK travellers. The move is relevant to biometric border policy because it creates a country-specific exception, pause, or implementation dispute within the EU’s broader biometric entry regime. GOV.UK’s Greece entry requirements page supports the key point on biometric collection, while separate UK government guidance explains that EES normally records biometrics and passport details for non-EU residents entering and exiting the Schengen area.
AI Meeting Assistants and Biometric Privacy: Governance Lessons From the Fireflies.AI Lawsuit
(The National Law Review, May 03, 2026)
AI meeting assistants are creating growing biometric privacy risk when transcription and speaker-recognition tools can capture voiceprints from people who never signed up for the service and never gave written consent. Using the Fireflies.AI lawsuit as a warning, the article pushes organizations to tighten governance around notice, consent, data retention, deletion, and vendor oversight before these tools create BIPA-style exposure and broader privacy compliance problems.
Watchdogs Warn AI Facial Recognition Rules Are Falling Behind
(The Beaver, May 04, 2026)
UK watchdogs and privacy advocates are warning that rules for AI-powered facial recognition are not keeping pace with the technology’s spread across law enforcement, retail, security, and public-service settings. The concerns center on weak oversight, algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, and the risk that facial recognition could be deployed without clear limits on when it can be used or how people’s biometric data is protected. The piece is relevant to biometric policy because it frames facial recognition as a governance problem, not just a technology issue, and points to calls for stronger approval processes, independent oversight, audits, and clearer UK rules for AI-based identification systems.
