FaceFirst is AI-powered face-matching and video analytics software that alerts retailers, hospitals, resorts, and venues to known offenders in real time. See…
Category
Analytics
Pricing
Custom-quoted; no public pricing page found — enterprise sales process.
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
August 5, 2026
EnterpriseAPICloudMachine Learning
FaceFirst is a face-matching and video analytics software platform built to help organizations prevent violence, theft, and fraud by identifying known offenders the moment they appear on camera. The product uses proprietary neural-network-based face-matching algorithms to compare live camera feeds against an organization's enrolled watchlist and sends real-time mobile alerts with policy-based recommended responses when a match occurs. A companion search and investigation capability lets security and loss-prevention teams search existing video footage for a person of interest, which FaceFirst says cuts investigation time from weeks to minutes. The platform is designed to work with an organization's existing camera infrastructure rather than requiring new hardware, and supports both cloud and on-premise deployment architectures, integrating with third-party video management systems (VMS) via API. FaceFirst was founded in 2007 (originally as Airborne Biometrics Group, based in Camarillo, California) and grew into a dedicated face-matching vendor serving retailers, hospitals, resorts, airports, stadiums/arenas, and transportation hubs. In February 2025, FaceFirst became a wholly owned subsidiary of Gatekeeper Systems, a retail loss-prevention hardware and analytics company (maker of Purchek, CartControl, and CartManager Ultra) with operations in 58 countries; FaceFirst now operates from Gatekeeper's ecosystem alongside those products while maintaining its own branded platform and Austin, Texas operating base. On privacy, FaceFirst says it uses a private-by-design approach that converts faces into anonymous biometric templates not tied to personally identifiable information, supports automatic data purging, and restricts enrollment-image access by role.
Key Features
Real-Time Face Matching — Compares live camera feeds against an enrolled watchlist and sends mobile alerts on a match.
Video Search & Investigation — Searches existing footage for a person of interest, cutting investigation time from weeks to minutes.
Private-by-Design Architecture — Converts faces into anonymous biometric templates not tied to PII, with automatic data purging.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Real-time face-matching alerts across an organization's locations can shorten video-based investigations from weeks to minutes, per FaceFirst's own claims.
Designed to work with existing camera systems and integrates with third-party VMS platforms via API, avoiding a full hardware rip-and-replace.
Uses a stated private-by-design architecture — anonymous biometric templates not linked to PII, automatic data purging, and role-based access controls — which is a differentiator in a category facing biometric-privacy scrutiny.
Now backed by Gatekeeper Systems' established retail loss-prevention distribution and support network spanning 58 countries following their February 2025 merger.
Cons
No public pricing, plans, or tiers are published; the site provides no self-serve pricing page and prospective buyers appear to need to contact sales for a custom quote.
Facial recognition technology is subject to a patchwork of evolving state and local biometric privacy laws, which can complicate rollout or require extra legal review depending on jurisdiction.
FaceFirst underwent a recent ownership change — acquired by Gatekeeper Systems in February 2025, with founder/CEO Dan Merkle departing the chief executive role — which can introduce short-term uncertainty around product roadmap or support continuity for existing customers.