IRS wants to store your biometric data for longer to help in its investigations

Source: The Independent

Friday 22 May 2026 12:03 EDT


U.S. taxpayers’ biometric data could be kept by a third party contractor for years, under new proposals being considered by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS and the Treasury Department are reviewing their relationship with identity verification company ID.me, which carries out authentication for federal websites, in light of the growing threat posed by fraudsters using AI.

The changes outlined in a presentation shown to Treasury staff on April 16, according to Politico, would drastically extend the amount of time ID.me is allowed to access account holders’ biometric information to assist with fraud investigations.

The company would be allowed to hang onto records for as long as an account is active and then for a further 36 months after it has been deleted. Currently it is required to delete the information within 24 hours of an account being closed.

While the prospect of a private entity having access to such intimate personal data for so much longer might alarm privacy activists, use of it by the federal government for any other purpose beyond verification is strictly controlled.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/irs-biometric-data-fraud-ai-deepfakes-b2982075.html