Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) has always been known for its strictness, its large penalties, and the confusion it created for businesses that use biometrics. With the 2024–2025 amendments, the law has become clearer and slightly less punishing—yet still very serious. If your organization uses fingerprint time clocks, facial recognition, biometric locks, or any tools that capture biometric data, these changes affect you.

Below is a clear, structured breakdown of what changed, why it matters, and what businesses and MSPs must do this year.

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1. Understanding BIPA and Why the 2025 Amendments Matter

BIPA was created to protect individuals whose biometric data is collected by businesses. Because biometrics are permanent and unique, the state of Illinois implemented strict requirements around consent, storage, retention, and destruction.

The biggest problem over the past decade wasn’t the rules themselves—it was how courts interpreted them. What seemed like simple fingerprint scans could turn into hundreds of violations, creating massive lawsuits. The 2024–2025 amendments were designed to reduce excessive harm while still protecting privacy.

To put the original spirit of BIPA in simple terms:

• Biometric data is extremely sensitive — you can cancel a credit card, but you can’t replace your fingerprints.

• People must know what businesses are collecting and why.

• Businesses must tell individuals how long data is kept and how it will be securely destroyed.

• Consent must be obtained before any biometric information is taken.

These principles still stand, even in the updated version of the law.

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2. Key BIPA Amendments for 2025 (Simplified)

The updated amendments change several important parts of the law. Here are the most impactful changes explained simply:

• One Violation Per Person Instead of Per Scan
  This is the biggest change. Businesses are no longer responsible for a violation every single time someone scans their fingerprint or face. One person = one violation per misuse. This reduces—but does not eliminate—legal risk.

• Electronic Consent Is Officially Allowed
  Before this change, “written consent” caused confusion. Now, electronic signatures, digital acknowledgment forms, and electronic checkboxes are fully acceptable.

• Retention and Destruction Policies Are More Explicit
  Businesses must have a documented timetable for how long biometric data is stored and a clear, secure method for destroying it.

• The Definition of Biometric Data May Be Narrower
  Proposed changes may exclude some mathematical templates or encrypted biometric derivatives from being considered “raw biometric identifiers.”

• Potential Adjustments Coming in 2025
  Future amendments under consideration include shorter deadlines for lawsuits and possible “cure periods” for unintentional violations.

Even with these updates, the law remains strict—just more balanced and manageable for businesses.

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3. How Businesses Should Handle Consent Under the New Rules

Consent remains the foundation of BIPA compliance. Even with more flexibility, the process must be clear and consistent. Here’s what every organization must do:

1. Explain exactly what data is being collected.
   People must know whether you’re collecting fingerprints, facial geometry, or another biometric identifier.

2. Describe the purpose of the collection.
   This could include clocking in, accessing restricted areas, or verifying identity.

3. Communicate the retention schedule in plain language.
   Employees or users should know how long their data will be stored.

4. Explain the destruction method.
   You must show how biometric data will be securely deleted once the retention period ends.

5. Obtain written or electronic consent before collecting data.
   Digital signatures, forms, and onboarding checkboxes all count.

6. Ensure people can review disclosures at any time.
   Accessibility is part of compliance—not an optional courtesy.

This process should be built into onboarding, vendor setups, and any environment where biometric devices are used.

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4. How to Build a Legally Defensible Retention Schedule

The 2025 BIPA amendments clarified something organizations have struggled with for years: you can’t store biometric data indefinitely, and you can’t guess at the timeline. Every business must now create a retention schedule that is clear, documented, and tied directly to an operational need. The schedule must define exactly how long the biometric data will be kept and exactly when it will be deleted.

This means companies can’t simply rely on vague timelines like “after employment ends” or “when no longer needed.” Instead, the retention period must be based on something measurable, such as the duration of employment, the term of a contract, or the lifecycle of a security system. Organizations must also publish the retention schedule in a way that employees or customers can access it and must prove that the deletion process actually happens as written. In practice, this forces businesses to treat biometric data similarly to financial or medical data: tightly controlled, time-bound, and fully documented.

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5. Required Destruction Practices Under the new BIPA Amendments

The new amendments go much deeper into how destruction must occur, ensuring that biometric data isn’t just “deleted,” but eliminated in a way that prevents reconstruction or misuse. Businesses must now follow a more formal, auditable destruction process:

1. Use irreversible destruction methods.
   The law highlights that biometric identifiers must be destroyed using processes that make recovery impossible, such as secure wiping standards, encrypted key destruction, or physical destruction of storage media when applicable. Basic file deletion is not acceptable.

2. Document every destruction event.
   Organizations must maintain records showing when, how, and by whom biometric data was destroyed. This documentation becomes critical evidence if a lawsuit claims data was kept longer than allowed.

3. Follow the retention schedule consistently.
   If your published retention timeline says data will be destroyed after 3 years, it must happen at exactly that point. Even one instance of delayed deletion could be treated as noncompliance.

4. Ensure MSPs and vendors follow your destruction standards.
   Third-party systems holding biometric data must delete it according to the same schedule and the same destruction methods. Businesses must verify this, preferably in writing, because liability still falls on the organization, not the vendor.

5. Train staff on destruction expectations.
   Anyone responsible for handling biometric data must understand the approved destruction methods, how to document them, and what must never be done. A well-written policy alone is not enough; people need to follow it.

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Final Thoughts

The 2024–2025 updates to BIPA make compliance more practical for businesses without weakening privacy protections. While liability is lower, obligations are still strict, and organizations must remain disciplined in how they collect, store, and dispose of biometric data.

With proper consent processes, strong documentation, secure systems, and clear retention schedules, businesses and MSPs can use biometric technology confidently, and legally.