Is digital photo/face id required for all reservations?

[Steven1588]

I do not want to share my id or face in digital form. 

[Mar125]

you shall provide if you are asked unless you have felony charges…..

[Breanna · Accepted solution]

Hi @Steven1588!

It is indeed a requirement to verify your identity and Airbnb may also ask for a photo of your government ID and a selfie. You can find all the info about why they ask for this and how your data is managed here >> Verifying your identity

[Steven1588]

Thanks for the reply Breanna. However, with widespread data breaches and government overreach (which I believe is unconstitutional), I do not wish to increase the risk footprint of my personal data. So I will avoid any service such as this that mandates sharing my photo ID or facial recognition.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Steven1588 As a host it is reassuring that Airbnb is demanding ID verification from our guests. Of course if you don't want to supply this then you will not be one of these guests.

[Steven1588]

Obviously

[Helen3]

That's fine you can not provide a photo of yourself @Steven1588 

But you will find many hosts like myself won't accept your booking.

I'm sure you appreciate as hosts we want to make sure the person who books is the one that actually turns up to stay. 

[Steven1588]

Hi Helen,

Once information about a person's identity is transmitted, there are two main problems I perceive: (1) hackers can steal your data and commit fraud, for which you can face difficult financial and reputational harm, and (2) the government can leverage this data to control you. ** Obviously, I know that my data is already spread out everywhere, but nonetheless, I want to reverse that as much as I can. I'm sure that **some types have no problem with limiting the agency of other people, but I certainly do. As AirBnB seems to be in the left camp also, their actions and policies are consistent. I'll be closing my account and demanding that they delete my data. Thank you for taking the time to reply.

**Some content hidden due to its unverifiable or misleading nature. 
[Generalizing Content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Alis2647]

I agree 100%.

I’ve been an active user of Airbnb for over 10 years now and only now in 2025 I’m being asked to provide all this facial ID and private information. That’s why there are reviews posted by other hosts about me as a guest from previous years. I have reviews from many places here in the United States, Europe and Latin America and Caribbean. It worked fine before and only now in 2025 there’s a need for me to be traced and tracked with my private data being scanned online. I say ‘no’. It’s not about having something to hide, it’s about protecting ourselves from government overreach and technocrats controlling us. I just tried to book and now all this facial, selfie ID is required. I do NOT do selfies like so many others and I don’t live online because I believe in privacy. Period. I too will soon be deleting this Airbnb account. 

[Stacy433]

Do you realize, unless a host specifically asks you for a pic of your ID, only Airbnb has your information? They don't forward that info to hosts, it stays only with them. So it's not being "passed" around 

[Alis2647]

And do you realize the meaning of hackers? 

Have you ever heard of the twitter files?

Airbnb will ‘only’ keep your data safely just like AT&T, Yahoo, Facebook, government county hospitals, Ticketmaster  and u fortunately so many more examples exists where people’s data was supposed to be kept ‘private’. So now anyone under the guise of being a ‘host’ can require a government ID. As I stated earlier, I’ve been on Airbnb for over 10 years and this worked because of REVIEWS. It’s a trust system where they already verify not only by previous reviews but by your cell number and your methods of payment with matching billing address. This is ridiculous that now they want to escalate with the facial recognition and biometric track and trace technology to CONTROL and NOT protect us. Just look at the Chinese social credit system. The more the peasants comply, the more the technocratic elite will continue crushing our rights and liberties. Go ahead keep thinking that it’s all about ‘safety’ just like the lockdowns and mandates. Not. 

[Kia272]

@Alis2647 Why don't you use a picture of your favorite conspiracy theorist instead. Win-win.