Gig workers for apps like Spark, Instacart, DoorDash, and Grubhub often have their accounts suspended with little notice or explanation. Workers have told BI that even getting a straight answer from the companies about whether they violated any policies in the first place can be next to impossible.

Walmart has been testing its Spark facial recognition feature in select markets since at least last summer and started using it nationally in November. The verification tool, which was developed by a third party, periodically asks users to take a selfie. Walmart then compares that to a previously submitted photo from the driver’s government-issued identification.

The rollout comes after some Walmart Spark drivers were found using multiple accounts under false identities to claim more orders and make more money.

…Other users have reported Spark freezing them out of their accounts after they tried to complete the verification, according to a dozen posts over the last several months on a Reddit page for Spark drivers.

“My account was deactivated after the identity verification,” one post from November on r/Sparkdriver reads. “I think it’s due to my weight loss and it did not recognize my biometrics” compared to a two-year-old driver’s license photo.

“I was deactivated last Monday due to the ID verification glitch,” another post, this one from August, reads. “I immediately filed an appeal, and was told yesterday that my deactivation will be upheld.”

Read more:

Bitter, A. (2024, February 2). Walmart’s facial ID tool to combat fraudulent Spark delivery drivers is kicking legitimate workers off the app. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-id-tool-spark-drivers-shutting-out-legitimate-workers-app-2024-2