Face-matching mechanics and privacy

How does face matching work?

You upload one selfie. PodiumBase turns it into a mathematical template, a set of numbers describing your face, and compares that template against faces detected in race photos. When a photo scores high enough, it is matched to you and appears in your gallery.

Your bib number and finish time act as supporting signals: a photo whose bib reads as your number and was taken near your finish time is more likely to be you, so the two methods reinforce each other.

What happens to my selfie?

The image itself is deleted within 60 seconds of matching. Whether a derived face template is retained depends on which search you choose.

Three different things can happen depending on where and how you search:

• An event-page one-time search compares your selfie against eligible photos from that event. The selfie image and derived face template are not retained after the search.
• Where event support, account eligibility, consent, age, and jurisdiction gates allow it, a cross-event one-time search compares your selfie against eligible photos from supported events. The selfie image and derived face template are not retained after the search; consent and audit records may remain.
• For eligible accounts, enrolling a selfie stores the derived face template so limited-release matching can run on supported future events while the feature remains enabled and until you withdraw consent.

Consent and audit records may remain after any search even when no selfie image or derived face template is retained. Withdrawing enrollment consent queues a stored template for deletion. See how to delete your data.

How accurate is it?

Good, not perfect, and it is worth knowing where it fails. Matching struggles when your face is turned away, in deep shadow, behind sunglasses, or small in the frame, and it can occasionally return someone who genuinely looks like you.

This is why bib search still exists. Either method can miss photos or return an incorrect match, and eligible published coverage varies by event. If you are shown a photo that is not you, report it rather than buying it: see I was shown someone else's photos.

Can I use PodiumBase without face matching?

Yes. Face matching is opt-in and you can turn it off at any time in your privacy center. Bib search still works, and any photos already matched to you stay in your gallery.

It is also switched off automatically in places where we do not have a supported legal basis for biometric processing, and in those races bib search is the only method. Anyone under 18 cannot enrol a selfie at all.

Where do I see exactly what is stored?

The plain-language summary is in trust and safety, and the full legal detail is in the biometric processing FAQ.