Woolies self-service checkout feature you didn’t know existed

The supermarket has been rolling out a new feature at self-service tills to make shopping faster – but it’s also recording what’s inside your bags.

Woolworths first began recording shoppers at self-service checkouts as a security measure last year – but did you know there’s more than one camera watching you?

The supermarket giant rolled out the feature on its checkouts in a bid to stamp out theft, openly capturing imaging of people’s faces as they scan items.

But most Australians might be surprised to discover it’s not the only camera watching them, with a second camera hidden inside the scanner that records exactly what is placed in their grocery bags.

The camera is part of an artificial intelligence (AI) called “pick list” that speeds up checkouts by detecting the type of fruit or vegetable being weighed.

Woolworths hi-tech solution recognises the fruit or vegetable being scanned based on its colour, shape or size, and automatically appears on the screen allowing the shopper to just confirm the item before bagging it.

It also makes it impossible for thieves to enter in a cheaper product when weighing produce while using the self-service checkout system.

There’s more than one camera on the newest self-serve checkouts at Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

However, no technology is perfect, so the camera also records what item is placed into the shopper’s grocery bag.

On occasions when an item cannot be recognised by the AI, the checkout will alert a Woolies staff member so they can verify it, revealing imagery of the inside of the customer’s shopping bag – a feature seen in action by news.com.au.

The AI uses cameras to predict what fruit or vegetable you place on the scale – but it also records inside your shopping bag. Picture: Supplied

Most people are aware of the forward-facing cameras that record shopper’s facial information which began rolling out last year. Picture: Supplied

Just like the footage recording shoppers’ faces at self-service checkouts, Woolworths states the images taken of the shopping bags are “not recorded or stored”.

Woolworths shoppers shared their “shock” at discovering the video surveillance cameras on the self-serve checkouts when first introduced in May 2021, with some saying it raised privacy concerns.

However the supermarket giant has since rolled it out to 685 of its 1000 Australian stores, with plans to install the technology at every supermarket over the coming years.

The new discovery at Woolies checkouts comes just weeks after Kmart, Bunnings and The Good Guys copped major backlash over its use of facial recognition cameras in stores that shoppers labelled “creepy” and “disgusting”.