What is CLEAR?

Never heard of CLEAR before? We’ll thats because a ton of people actually signed up for CLEAR and then it went under during the economic crisis. However, it is now back and bigger than ever as a new option to expedite travel security. The slogan is to get travelers through airport security in 5 minutes or less at airports across the US. With their own dedicated lanes and service-trained staff, members can bypass those good ole long security TSA lanes.

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So what exactly is CLEAR? CLEAR is a biometrics platform that uses both of ones eyes, your face and finger tips to confirm you are who you are. CLEAR takes this information and turns it into an encrypted code. Each time you check in, your eyes and finger prints are checked against this code. CLEAR is SAFETY act certified, which is a certification the Department of Homeland Security uses to incentivize the development and deployment of anti-terrorism technologies by creating systems of risk management and mitigation.


CLEAR is primarily in airports but has also extend to sporting events. So where are they currently located?

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New York:

  • Westchester Country Airport

  • Citi Field

  • Yankee Stadium

  • Laguardia Airport

Baltimore:

  • Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

Washington D.C:

  • Dulles International Airport

  • Ronald Reagan Washington Nation Airport

Detroit:

  • Comerica Park

  • Detroit Metro Airport

Atlanta:

  • SunTrust Park

  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Orlando:

  • Orlando International Airport

Minneapolis:

  • Minneapolis- St. Paul International Airport

Fort. Lauderdale:

  • Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Miami:

  • Miami International Airport

  • AmericanAirlines Arena

  • Marlins Park

New Orleans:

  • Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

Dallas:

  • Dallas Love Field Airport

  • Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport

Houston:

  • William P. Hobby Airport

  • George Bush Intercontinental Airport

Austin

  • Austin-Bergstorm International Airport

San Antonio

  • San Antonio International Airport

Denver

  • Coors Field

  • Denver International Airport

Salt Lake City

  • Salt Lake City International Airport

Phoenix

  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Las Vegas

  • McCarran International Airport

Seattle

  • CenturyLink Field

  • T-Mobile Park

  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Los Angeles

  • Los Angeles International Airport

  • Banc of California Stadium

San Jose

  • Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport

  • Avaya Stadium

San Francisco Bay Area

  • San Francisco International Airport

  • Oakland-Alameda Country Coliseum

  • Oracle Park


The process:

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  1. You go to the CLEAR station and complete the biometrics.

  2. You are then taken to front of the standard security line.

    or

    If you have TSA Precheck, you are then taken to front of that line.

  3. Once at the front, you show the TSA agent your boarding pass and proceed through the screening area as you normally would.


But How Is Your Data Protected?

With the litany of data breaches and hacks suffered by private companies and government agencies alike, you may be asking: how will the CLEAR program keep my biometric and identification details safe and secure?

The CLEAR website details the steps they take to safeguard your information including:

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  • Utilizing encryption to make it harder for hackers to access your data

  • Storing your data on secure servers that utilize firewall protection

  • Monitoring the servers with intrusion detection and prevention systems

As the recent data breaches have proven, no system is completely impenetrable so everyone considering the program will have to take that into account when giving up their biometric information, but with all the other systems already utilizing biometric information it may not make much of a difference having the CLEAR program possessing it.