How does Clear allow someone to “skip the security line” at airports?
In: Other
In all honesty, it’s just about the money. You’re paying cash to skip the line, and the Clear people have made some sort of deal with the airport security people.
They have a way to check your identity via fingerprints or retinal scan, but in terms of security, I don’t see how it’s better than having the guard look at your ID.
Other posters are mentioning a more extensive background check, but that’s TSA Precheck, not Clear.
TSA Precheck is a government program where you undergo a one-time background check and your name goes into the system. This greatly increases the chances that you get the “TSA PRE” mark on your boarding pass. This lets you go through a faster, less invasive security screening. As someone who often carries two or three laptops, plus a couple of tablets through the airport, it’s been a real boon to me. It’s also much cheaper than Clear; $85 gets you five years. But you do have to go in and get your fingerprints recorded and fill out a questionnaire.
Worth noting: you can often get “TSA PRE” without having signed up for the service. I strongly suspect that being a white frequent traveller helps a lot there. You can also sign up for the service but still not get “TSA PRE” all the time. Signing up only improves your odds.
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