Biometrics firm Clear links up test results to app that screens for COVID-19 risk

Manhattan-based biometrics firm Clear—best known for letting people skip to the front of the airport security line—has partnered with the country's two largest private labs to link Covid-19 test results to an app that lets employers and building owners screen at the door for health risks. 

The partnerships mark a big step for Clear's new Health Pass app, which the company says could help safely reopen offices, restaurants and stadiums by linking biometric verification technology with health data. Privacy advocates counter that the technology risks permanently expanding the intrusions of airport-level security into daily life.

The company on Monday announced separate deals with Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp to integrate Covid-19 testing results into Health Pass. The integration could allow employers or venue operators to more easily require a recent negative Covid-19 test for entry.

Clear launched Health Pass in May, at a time its main business of allowing members to bypass airport security waits was disrupted by the pandemic. Since its launch, the program has been used by the National Hockey League for screening players in its playoff bubble in Canada. It also has been used for screening employees at the 9/11 Memorial.

To enter an office building or venue using Health Pass, people must download the app and take a selfie to authenticate their identity. Before entering the building, a short quiz on the app asks about potential symptoms. After filling out the quiz, people need to stand in front of one of Clear's kiosks—similar to those used in airports—where their face will be scanned and their temperature checked.

Based on guidelines set by the business or venue, the kiosks give a red or green light indicating if someone should be allowed to enter.

CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker said the partnerships with Quest and LabCorp would add to that process by allowing people "a discreet, secure way to share their test results when they enter public settings and workplaces."

Clear says building owners or companies do not have access to an individual's health data through the technology. They will see only the red or green light dictating whether to allow someone into the building.

Nevertheless, Health Pass has attracted skepticism since its launch earlier this year. Albert Fox Cahn, an attorney and privacy watchdog, called Health Pass a "privacy nightmare" that could create a false sense of security.

"There's no legal protection to stop schools, employers or public accommodations from forcing people to install this sort of invasive app on their phone as a requirement to keep their job, get an education or simply take part in public life," said Fox Cahn, founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a Lower Manhattan watchdog group.

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker, of New Jersey and Jeffrey A. Merkley of Oregon wrote a letter to Clear in May with a list of questions about Health Pass and its data protection policies. The pandemic, they wrote, should not "threaten the privacy and security of millions of consumers."

In a response the company shared with Crain's, Seidman-Becker said the app improves privacy by allowing employers and venues to set health criteria without collecting sensitive information on their own.

A request to Booker's office for comment on the new partnerships was not returned Tuesday.

Screening for potential Covid-19 symptoms is a requirement for offices and other facilities under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reopening guidelines. Several of the city's top landlords have developed their own apps or use more analog solutions—such as an email or a paper form. Clear's advantage could be its ability to link those surveys to biometric data that confirms identity. The company has checked in more than 55 million flyers since its relaunch out of bankruptcy in 2010.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality reopened three of its restaurants last week—Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Blue Smoke—using Health Pass for daily screenings of employees. The restaurant group is not requiring a recent Covid-19 test to be approved through Health Pass, spokeswoman Jetty-Jane Connor said.

The company is still working to secure partners. Last week MGM Resorts said its plans to use Health Pass to help screen visitors to conferences at its hotels in Las Vegas and throughout the country.