Clear Secure
Clear Secure, Inc. (operating as: CLEAR) is an American technology company that operates biometric travel document verification system at Major United States Airport and Stadiums. History. Origin and founders. Steven Brill was the owner of Verified Identity Pass, who was running CLEAR at the time. After stepping away from the company in 2008 Steven Brill gave an announcement to the customers regarding CLEAR and their future “I am deeply saddened for Clear’s dedicated staff and loyal customers that the company has ceased operations”. The email was sent out to all employees and customers of CLEAR. 2010s. Caryn  Seidman-Becker took over Clear in 2010 with her partner and co-founder Ken Cornick. Caryn Seidman-Becker ultimately overlooks everything that is being done in the company such as the overall approach the company takes, marketing, and business development. Clear operates out of its headquarters in Manhattan, New York. Clear began to work under the larger company of Alclear. Caryn Seidman-Becker and Ken Cornick saw Clear as a promising business to pursue based on the fact that they believed the market for surveillance and security would rise due to the catastrophic events that happened on 9/11. In 2021 , Clear went public as Clear Secure, Inc. on the NYSE with the ticker symbol ‘YOU’. Corporate Affairs. Patents. The company has received patents for “physical token-less security screening using biometrics”, which allows a person to be identified using their individual and distinctive biometric identity that the company creates. The company has been successful in filing and receiving several patents throughout the years. On February 4, 2020, the company was granted the ability to ticket people through their biometric identities. Prior to this patent, the company was also granted two patents on January 14, 2020 to conduct pre-identification before  an individual approached the stationed device and to use individual biometric identities to expedite interactions with people in the close vicinity. To simplify and expedite the process even further, on December 31, 2019, the company was granted a patent to use mobile devices in enrolling into the system. Clear has partnerships with the European company Oberthur Technologies. Oberthur provides Clear with identification cards encoded with information that is beyond a normal ID card. They follow the federal standards for Personal Identity Verification (PIV). Anti-Terrorism. In June 2012, CLEAR received certification under the SAFETY Act (Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering  Effective Technologies Act of 2002) by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Marketing and Collaborations. Clear has partnerships with Airlines, Stadiums and Car rental companies. The airline currently partners with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines. This includes partnerships with Major League Baseball and National Football League. Clear has also partnered with Lyft which grants people a 3-month free trial to test out Clear and gives them a $20 voucher for Lyft customers to use towards a trip to any airport. Clear formerly had a partnership with car rental company Hertz until the company declared  bankrupt. Revenue. The company charges its customers $179 per year for the program. This cost of membership allows them to skip past long lines, whether they be at stadiums/arenas, airports, or concerts. By expanding and diversifying their locations, CLEAR also receives additional revenue from teams, who pay licensing fees. Awards. In June 2019, Clear CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker and President Ken Cornick were given the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for the New York Region. Reception. Despite the promised expedition through airport crowds and the special status that one believes to have under AlClear, in reality  many travelers and subscribers don’t feel like they're getting much out of their subscription. After confirming a person's identity with Alclear with a person's “biometrically encoded card”, the person still has to go through TSA and go through their security efforts. Critics of AlClear call out how easy it is for these “security companies” to take a user's biometrics, without much knowledge as to where and who their information is going to. Users put their faith in companies like AlClear to handle their personal information to themselves and use it only for the purposes of  the business model. India Mckineey, Deputy Director of Federal Affairs at the Electronic Frontier Foundation argues that the data Clear is not 100% safe, there will always be the fear and threat of a hacking. She wonders if giving your biometrics up for the ability to cut the line at the airport or a stadium is worth it. Controversies. Clear has the fear of security breach worrying customers and companies alike, considering its database is filled with thousands of their customers' biometrics. In 2008 before being bought out a laptop was stolen from the company with unencrypted information from 33,000  customers. Public Opposition. On the federal level, there are no restrictions on biometric data collection. However, several states, such as Illinois, Texas, Washington, and California, have shown their opposition to data collection and the admission of this data to others. In 2008, Illinois banned the admission and auctioning of data, with the exception of subpoenas or consent. The company has acknowledged the conversations around data collection and disclosure, in which it agrees that biometric data should not be used without consent, especially in consideration of past incidents with Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, and other companies. Locations. Clear has locations throughout the  United States, some major cities they are located in are Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Houston. They have over 50 locations that vary from airports to sporting event venues. Airport. As of 1 October 2021, the following airports is where CLEAR has dedicated lanes for expedited security.