Until just a few years ago, the idea that someone could move through daily life without being constantly watched felt like a given. But in 2026, anonymity is rapidly slipping away, replaced by a world where technology tracks, scans, and identifies us at every turn. From airports and shopping malls to the very phones in our pockets, privacy is becoming less a right and more a luxury—sometimes only available to those who can afford or are savvy enough to protect it.
According to a Science article published on January 3, 2026, the landscape of travel and everyday life is undergoing irreversible change. Airports across the globe, especially in the United States, have adopted facial recognition technology at an astonishing pace. The TSA and private firm Clear have rolled out eGates that allow travelers to pass through security by simply having their faces scanned—no need to fumble for a passport. The U.S. “Simplified Arrival” program already requires photographs from all non-citizens, with plans to expand this system to every air and sea port in the near future. Industry reports say millions of Americans used facial recognition at airports throughout 2025, a number that keeps rising as traditional forms of identification fade away.
Europe is no stranger to these changes. Poland, for instance, has been issuing biometric passports since 2006, embedding fingerprints and digital photos into travel documents. The trend is unmistakably global. The percentage of travelers who have never experienced biometrics is shrinking every year, and with it, the expectation of privacy in public spaces.
Proponents of these technologies tout their convenience and the boost to security. After all, who wouldn’t want to breeze through airport lines or feel safer knowing that would-be criminals are easier to track? But critics, including Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben, see a darker side. Agamben famously refused to lecture in the United States in 2004 after learning that biometric data collection was mandatory for entry, likening the practice to the forced tattooing of prisoners in Nazi Germany. He wrote, “The bio-political tattooing the United States imposes now on us to enter its territory is the precursor to what we will be asked to accept later as the normal registration of the identity of a good citizen in the state’s gears.”
It’s not just airports. As reported by Science, even shopping is losing its cloak of anonymity. Amazon Go stores, for example, use a web of cameras and sensors to track every item you pick up. You simply scan your app, shop, and walk out—the system tallies your purchases and emails you a receipt. Other retailers are racing to adopt similar systems. By 2025, the “biometrics as a service” market was valued in the billions, incorporating iris and voice recognition alongside facial scans. In some countries, store cameras already flag “suspicious” customers based on behavioral patterns, blurring the line between convenience and control.
China has taken surveillance to a new level. Its social credit system, which links facial recognition to a network of over 200 million cameras, rewards or punishes citizens based on their behavior. In March 2025, the Chinese Communist Party issued 23-point guidelines to standardize and refine this system. While the stated goal is to balance rewards and punishments, the reality is a society where constant monitoring is the norm and deviation from the digital mainstream can have real consequences.
Europe, for its part, is walking a tightrope. Between 2025 and 2026, all EU member states are required to offer the European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet), an app that stores biometric data and grants access to public and private services. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, tried to reassure citizens in a 2021 speech, saying, “A technology where we can control ourselves what data is used and how data is used.” But critics aren’t convinced. Despite official promises to minimize data sharing, technical realities often make it easy to link disparate pieces of information, creating detailed profiles of citizens’ habits and preferences. Scientists and civil society groups have sounded the alarm in open letters, warning of the risks of centralization and potential misuse.
All the while, the march of technology continues. Experts predict that future systems will combine facial, voice, and behavioral recognition for even greater precision. The more seamless and integrated these tools become, the harder it is for individuals to opt out. Refusing to provide a digital footprint can already mean being locked out of basic services—a trend that became especially pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic, when digital tracking was used to enforce lockdowns and monitor public health.
Yet, amid this tightening net of surveillance, some companies are fighting back by putting privacy front and center. On January 4, 2026, Swiss company Punkt unveiled the MC03, a minimalist smartphone designed to protect users’ data above all else. Built in Germany with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, the MC03 features a replaceable 5,200mAh battery, a microSD slot for expandable storage, and a crisp 6.67-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. But its real selling point is the software: AphyOS, a custom version of Android 15, comes with no Google services pre-installed and promises zero tracking or profiling.
The MC03’s operating system is split into two zones. The ‘Vault’ houses privacy-centric apps like Proton Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN, Pass, and Threema for secure messaging. The ‘Wild Web’ lets users download any Android app, but with a twist: a tool called Ledger reveals exactly what each app is doing in the background and what permissions it has. There’s even a built-in VPN for safe browsing on public networks. Punkt offers three years of operating system upgrades and five years of security patches, with a free year of membership included. After that, users pay a modest monthly fee—unless they opt out, in which case the phone reverts to standard open-source Android.
Samsung, too, is making privacy a headline feature. On January 5, 2026, the company announced that its upcoming Galaxy S26 series will debut a built-in screen privacy feature as part of the One UI 8.5 update. This innovative tool restricts screen visibility from side angles, making it difficult for anyone nearby to read sensitive information. Unlike traditional physical privacy protectors, Samsung’s solution is software-based and can be toggled on or off in system settings. The feature can also activate automatically in certain situations, such as when the user is outdoors or opens specific apps. Notifications, quick settings, and supported applications are all covered, providing comprehensive protection without sacrificing usability. The S26 Ultra will be the first to launch with this feature, with other models following soon after. It’s a move that reflects growing demand for privacy in an era of constant digital exposure.
But even as tech giants and niche players alike introduce new privacy tools, the broader trend is clear: surveillance is becoming the default, and opting out is increasingly difficult. In Poland, for instance, recent debates about cryptocurrency regulations have highlighted the government’s suspicion toward tools that ensure true privacy. And as cash becomes rarer and digital payments leave ever more detailed footprints, living “off the grid” is becoming less practical—and perhaps even suspect.
As the late American anthropologist David Graeber wrote in his book The Utopia of Rules, “Regulations choke existence, armed guards and surveillance cameras appear everywhere, science and creativity are smothered, and we all discover that an ever-increasing percentage of our day is spent filling out forms.” Today, that bureaucratic reality is turbocharged by technology, making privacy a moving target in a world that’s always watching.
The push and pull between convenience, security, and privacy is shaping the future of daily life. Whether privacy remains a basic right or becomes a privilege for the few may depend on the choices we make—and the technologies we embrace or resist—in the years ahead.
