Auror Subject Recognition: One platform to protect stores from known high-risk threats with responsible facial recognition

Auror has recently launched Auror Subject Recognition (ASR) — a new product that integrates leading facial recognition technology (FRT) with safeguarded Retail Crime Intelligence to detect and alert teams to known high-risk persons of interest (POIs) before they offend.

This marks the next evolution of Auror’s Risk Detection suite, which also includes Auror Vehicle Recognition (AVR), providing teams with the layered store protection they need to act safely and confidently when known high-risk people or vehicles enter their premises.

Retail crime is real crime — and it’s escalating

Globally, 1 in every 10 retail crime events involve violence, and 10% of people are responsible for more than 60% of total loss and harm. Depending on where you live, these repeat offenders are up to 6 times more likely to cause serious safety incidents, according to data from millions of events entered into Auror last year.

Despite significant innovations in physical security, training, and loss prevention, incidents of aggression, theft, and intimidation continue to rise, leaving frontline teams feeling unsafe. A recent Retail Worker Safety Survey from Theatro found that 80% of retail staff do not feel safe on the job.

“We should all refuse to accept a society that considers this behavior ‘part of the job’ just because it happens in a shop,” said Phil Thomson, Co-founder and CEO of Auror. 

Responsible recognition, not surveillance

Auror Subject Recognition is built to help retail teams act with speed, safety, and confidence as high-risk threats enter their stores. Traditional facial recognition identifies faces but lacks critical context. Auror Subject Recognition detects and alerts teams with critical, human-verified intel on known high-risk POIs.

When a POI who meets a retailer’s risk criteria — for example, a person previously involved in violent, threatening, or repeat theft incidents — enters a store, ASR can detect the match and alert trained staff in real time. Each alert includes relevant context and requires human verification before engagement, ensuring teams can make informed, safe decisions about how to respond.

“We take our role in protecting information and building safeguards for retailers using this tech very seriously,” said Auror co-founder and CEO Phil Thomson.

“Subject Recognition cannot in any way be used for tracking, monitoring or profiling people. Like all of our services, we prohibit retailers from entering sensitive information like ethnicity, race, and religion, which is a key safeguard that reduces human bias, improves evidence-based decision-making, and enhances privacy.”

Privacy-first by design

ASR has been built with privacy and transparency at its core. Every key decision is human-verified, every detection is auditable, and no biometric data is ever stored within the retailer's information in Auror. Please see the ASR Trust Center page for more information on how Auror protects privacy.

Key ASR safeguards include:

• Purpose-built for prevention only: All biometric processing occurs within approved third-party providers and is never retained within the retailer's information in Auror. ASR can’t be used for tracking, marketing, categorization, or profiling. 
• Human in the loop: Every key decision, including a suggested match, must be verified by trained staff before action is taken.
• Independent oversight: Each integration is assessed under Auror’s Responsible Technology and AI framework and through independent Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs).

Safer stores start with awareness

Auror Subject Recognition operates within the same trusted platform used by more than 50,000 stores worldwide. It delivers an end-to-end workflow and strict safeguards — from reporting and investigation to alerting — all within a single, secure system.

Benefits of Auror Subject Recognition

• Works with existing cameras that meet minimum specifications and with an approved best-in-class FRT provider.
  
  
• Enables automated, safeguarded POI enrollment based on verified retail intel.
  
  
• Provides real-time alerts and ROI analytics on every detection.
  
  
• Seamlessly integrates with Auror Investigate for rapid case management and law enforcement escalation.

For retailers, that means no new systems, minimal change management and setup, and immediate value. Retail partners can leverage their existing Auror intelligence from day one.

The next era of retail safety is here

The launch of Auror Subject Recognition reflects a pivotal shift in how the retail industry approaches safety: from reactive to proactive, from isolated systems to connected intelligence, and from surveillance risk to responsible recognition.

It’s about empowering store teams to act on verified intelligence, not biased assumptions, while maintaining the trust of the communities they serve.

As CEO and co-founder of Auror Phil Thomson shared, you shouldn’t have to choose between privacy and safety:

“Addressing violence and organised crime in stores is a shared responsibility, and we’re proud to play a part in helping retailers and communities make their stores safer.”

Auror Subject Recognition is now available to retailers. For more information visit the Auror Subject Recognition product page.