On Monday, Internal Revenue Service officials announced that they have introduced a new method of signing up (facial recognition technology) for online accounts that will allow taxpayers to avoid using controversial biometric data.
According to UPI report, users wishing to register online will still use ID.me, but they will also be able to verify their identities through a “live virtual interview” instead of uploading a video selfie.
“This is consistent with the IRS’s commitment earlier this month to transition away from the requirement for taxpayers creating an IRS online account to provide a selfie to a third-party service to help authenticate their identity,” according to the IRS.
ID.me said it would take between 5-10 minutes to verify an account with an agent, according to its own statement. The wait time for the next video chat agent is not included.
There will still be the option of facial recognition for taxpayers through ID.me.
“For taxpayers who select this option, new requirements are in place to ensure images provided by taxpayers are deleted for the account being created,” the IRS stated.
“Any existing biometric data from taxpayers who previously created an IRS Online Account that has already been collected will also be permanently deleted over the course of the next few weeks.”
Following privacy and data security concerns, the IRS announced earlier this month that it would “transition away” from requiring taxpayers to take selfies and provide ID.me verifications.