Home Depot and Lowe's are secretly using facial recognition technology to track customer movement in their stores, violating privacy laws in Illinois, plaintiffs in two class action lawsuits say.

The plaintiffs, who are Illinois residents, allege the two big box retailers are using the technology without properly notifying customers or seeking their consent, as required by state law.

'When plaintiffs and the class members entered Home Depot stores, defendants used the Home Depot security-camera systems to create faceprints of plaintiffs and the class members,' the Home Depot class action states.

One of two class action lawsuits have targeted Home Depot (above) and Lowe's, saying the retailers are secretly using facial recognition technology in violation of Illinois law

Home Depot and Lowe's, according to the lawsuits, are in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, which regulates any 'biometric identifier,' including a scan of face geometry,' by cameras like the one seen above

Under Illinois law, the collection of the biometric data, for example by a camera like the one shown above, requires written notification, a statement of purpose for the collection of that data and duration for which it will be kept, and written consent from those scanned

'Those faceprints mapped the geometry of plaintiffs' and the class members' faces, and defendants used that geometry to identify them as they moved through the store, returned to the store, and visited other stores.'

The almost identical language appears in the Lowe's suit, making similar allegations. Both suits are represented by Keller Lenker of Chicago, with additional attorneys in Washington DC and Atlanta included in the Lowe's suit.

Both claims seek a jury trial and unspecified financial relief for damages.

Spokespersons for both retailers weren't immediately available when DailyMail.com reached out.

Facial recognition has been widely adopted at airports, stadiums, traffic intersections and even some schools, and was expected to be used in retailing to enhance security measures.

However, the technology has raised privacy concerns.

Lowe's (above) had mentioned it was using facial recognition in its 2018 privacy policy. The 2019 policy, however, no longer mentions the technology

In fact, Home Depot and Lowe's, according to the lawsuits, are in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, which regulates any 'biometric identifier,' including 'a retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or scan of hand or face geometry.'

The collection of the biometric data requires written notification, a statement of purpose for the collection of that data and duration for which it will be kept, and written consent from the individuals from which the data is being collected, the lawsuits both state.

Neither store, according to both lawsuits, met the benchmarks set in the Illinois law, also know as BIPA and which was enacted in 2008.

'Plaintiffs and the class members did not consent to the disclosure or dissemination of their biometric identifiers,' say both of the class actions.

No evidence is provided for the allegations, although the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed last year that Lowe's was using facial recognition, citing mentions in its 2018 privacy policy.

However, IPVM, a camera surveillance industry news site, noted that the privacy policy this year no longer has references to the technology. The class action filed against Lowe's alleges it has been using the technology for 11 years.

Facial recognition, as demonstrated in the example above, can scan a person's face to identify an individual and provide other personal information that may be relevant to a retailer

Facial recognition has been widely adopted at airports, stadiums, traffic intersections and even some schools, and was expected to be used in retailing to enhance security measures. However, the technology, shown in the example above, has raised privacy concerns

Walmart also was testing the technology, according to the ACLU, and Madison Square Garden was considering using it.

The civil rights organization points out on its website that 'stores have a strong financial incentive to collect as much information about their customers as they can get.'

'And we do know that when it comes to this kind of cutting-edge technology, which is taking the human race to places it's never been before, the public has a right to know what stores are doing with it, if anything, so they can vote with their feet if they don't like it.'

IVPM speculates the lawsuits against Home Depot and Lowe's may be more an attempt by the plaintiffs, or more so their lawyers, to find legal weaknesses at each company that they can exploit with litigation.

'Best guess is either this law firm is just fishing for something and will come up empty or these retailers were very imprudent to run facial recognition inside of Illinois which has a decade-old law on biometric use,' IVPM writes in its analysis of the class actions.