Science Friday Data about your body is up for sale. Who's buying it?
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May 7, 2026 
Anne Toomey McKenna, a privacy attorney focused on biometric surveillance and AI policy, discusses how cameras, phones, and sensors capture faces, gait, heart rates and more. She covers cloud cameras, data brokers selling biometric profiles, and how AI links data to identify and target people. The conversation highlights the scale and commercial market for personal body data.
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Biometrics Is Far Broader Than Just Faces
- Biometrics includes any measurable characteristic that can identify you, not just fingerprints or faces.
- Anne Toomey McKenna highlights heart rate, gait, retina features, and phone-handling patterns as biometric identifiers.
Surveillance Is Built Into Everyday Devices
- Modern life requires pervasive surveillance because smartphones, cars, and public cameras constantly collect sensor and image data.
- McKenna explains cars can read heart rate from steering wheels and in-car cameras monitor attention for safety features.
Cloud Camera Vendors Also Collect Your Footage
- Cloud-connected camera vendors often receive footage alongside property owners, enabling centralized analysis and insight extraction.
- McKenna notes vendors can infer identity, emotion, and clothing and then monetize those insights.