Sainsbury’s suspends live facial recognition after customer wrongly accused of being a shoplifter

Sainsbury’s suspends live facial recognition after customer wrongly accused of being a shoplifter Milo Pope | Live News reporter Published August 17, 2026 9:26am Updated August 17, 2026 9:26am A Sainsbury’s customer was stopped by two staff members for a ‘previous incident’ (Picture: Getty Images) Sainsbury’s has suspended the use of its live facial recognition technology at one of its London stores after a customer was wrongly accused of being a shoplifter. Matt Arnold, 46, was attempting to buy alcohol at a self-service checkout at the supermarket’s East Dulwich store when he was stopped by two members of management. After already scanning his items alongside his Nectar loyalty card, Arnold was told that he had been identified by the facial recognition technology in connection with an in