The new "fast lane" is a faceprint Across 2025–2026, biometric exit/entry programs went from optional pilots to default lanes at major airports. EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) finally launched after multiple delays. CBP's Traveler Verification Service quietly expanded to airline boarding gates. Singapore Changi, Sydney, and Heathrow T2 all added gate cameras that match your face to a passport scan from hours earlier. The pitch is "skip the queue." The receipt is a face template that lives in a government database, an airline database, or both — depending on which "convenience" you opted into. Who keeps the template Operator / Storage period (claimed) / Storage period (in practice) EU EES / 3 years (entry/exit) / Up to 5 years if flagged CBP TVS / 12 hours (US citizens) / Indefinite if matched to a watchlist Airline DB / "Trip duration" / Often retained for loyalty programs The "12 hours" CBP figure only applies if the system actually deletes you. A 2023 GAO audit found photo deletion was not consistently audited at secondary-inspection workstations. How to opt out (where you still can) US domestic flights: Tell the gate agent "I'd like to opt out." They must check your physical ID instead. CBP confirms this is a right for US citizens. EU EES first entry: You cannot opt out of the system, but you can request manual processing if the kiosks are full or broken. Loyalty biometrics: Delta Digital ID, United Touchless ID, and similar are opt-in. Don't enroll. They share with CBP and TSA. What the public record shows The European Commission's published EES rollout plan describes the system as covering all third-country nationals crossing Schengen external borders, with biometrics held in a central database for three years (longer if flagged). The link in citations is to the Commission's smart-borders policy page. DHS's published Privacy Impact Assessment for the CBP Traveler Verification Service is the primary source for the "12-hour retention for US citizens" claim and for what gets retained when a match hits a watchlist. IATA's One ID position paper openly proposes that the face become the single travel credential — passport, boarding pass, hotel check-in, car rental — by the end of the decade. That is the trajectory; whether it is opposable is the policy question. Big Brother Watch has documented UK airport face-scan deployments and opt-out experiences in detail; their reports are the most thorough public record of the user-facing rollout. What changes in your threat model Once a face template is in a government system, it is searchable by a growing list of agencies. The TSA's expansion of facial recognition to domestic checkpoints is opt-out today; opt-out has historically been the last warning before opt-out becomes "no thanks, you're not flying."