Campaign 2 · biometric access

Locked Out When Biometrics Fail?

Fingerprint and facial recognition can fail for some people, including older people. JusticeSA wants an equally secure non-biometric route so a machine's failure does not block someone from an essential service.

JusticeSA is not yet claiming that most older people fail biometrics. This campaign is collecting the evidence needed to measure how large the problem is and who is most affected.

What we are asking Government to do

  1. Require an equivalent secure non-biometric alternative when biometrics are used for an essential public service.
  2. Provide a remote alternative where reasonably possible instead of requiring an office visit merely because biometrics fail.
  3. Measure and publish privacy-safe failure rates by age group and biometric method.
  4. Provide a clear human-assisted escalation path.
  5. Pilot bank or other regulated trusted-provider verification as an alternative.
  6. Do not impose an extra fee or unreasonable delay because the biometric system cannot recognise someone.

Why this is an equality question

Section 9 of the South African Constitution expressly includes age among the grounds on which the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly.

SARS also documents that unsuccessful biometric verification may lead to further verification, supporting documents, or a service-centre appointment.

Constitution: section 9SARS biometric process

JusticeSA evidence base

0 anonymous experience(s) received

Category breakdowns appear only after at least 25 reports have been received, protecting small-group privacy.

A practical alternative

AstruVerify

JusticeSA advocates for the right to an alternative. AstruVerify is the separate technical pilot for bank/trusted-provider identity verification; JusticeSA does not receive your AstruVerify identity data.

View AstruVerify

Make your voice heard

Send this message to Government

Copy this wording and send it through the official Government, department, MP or public-participation channel relevant to the service that affected you. Add your own experience if you wish, but do not publish sensitive identity information.

To whom it may concern,

I ask Government to ensure that when biometric identification is used for an essential service, a person who cannot be reliably recognised by the biometric system has access to an equivalent secure non-biometric route.

The alternative should not impose an unreasonable delay, additional fee, or unnecessary in-person journey merely because the biometric technology failed.

I also ask Government to measure and publish privacy-safe biometric failure rates by age group and method, provide a clear human-assisted escalation process, and test bank or other regulated trusted-provider verification as a secure alternative.

I support secure identity verification. I am asking for identity verification that works for everyone.

Build the evidence

Tell JusticeSA what happened

Please report the experience, not sensitive identity data. Age bands help us test whether the problem is concentrated among older people without collecting your date of birth.

Do not enter an ID number, fingerprint image, face image, medical diagnosis, bank details, password, PIN or OTP. This report does not ask for your name or email address.