Foodstuffs' North Island trial of facial recognition technology is under the microscope.

An inquiry by the Privacy Commissioner will monitor the way stores are running the trial to make sure it's compliant with the Privacy Act.

Commissioner Michael Webster says at the end of the six month trial, he'll make an assessment of the results.

"We'll also be considering other matters in terms of our concerns that we highlighted sometime back about the nature of this privacy intrusive technology being used in this sort of retail setting." 

Webster says they also want to hear from customers about if and how the trial is impacting them.

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