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Clear Secure, Inc.
CLEAR
Formerly
  • Verified Identity Pass, Inc.
  • AlClear, LLC
Company typePublic
IndustryIdentity verification
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
Founders
  • Caryn Seidman-Becker
  • Ken Cornick
HeadquartersManhattan,
New York
,
United States of America
Number of locations
55+ airports, stadiums, and other venues (2024)
Area served
United States
Products
  • CLEAR Plus
  • Reserve powered by CLEAR
Services
  • Identity Verification
  • Platform
RevenueIncrease US$437 million (2022)
Decrease US$−66 million (2022)
Total assetsIncrease US$1.04 billion (2022)
Total equityDecrease US$511 million (2022)
Number of employees
3,056 (December 2022)
Websiteclearme.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Clear Secure, Inc. is an American technology company that operates biometric travel document verification systems at some major airports and stadiums.

History

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Origin and founders

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Steven Brill and Ajay Amlani were original owners of Clear, a subsidiary of Verified Identity Pass, founded in 2003. Ajay Amlani left the company in 2006 to pursue another identity technology company named YOU Technology. Steven Brill stepped away from the company in 2008.[2] Clear shut down in 2009 after filing for bankruptcy.[3]

2010s

[edit]

Caryn Seidman-Becker purchased CLEAR out of bankruptcy in 2010 with her partner and co-founder Ken Cornick. They relaunched the company in 2012. Clear operates out of its headquarters in Manhattan, New York.[4]

2020s

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In 2021, Clear went public as Clear Secure, Inc. on the NYSE with the ticker symbol ‘YOU’.[5]

In January 2023, Clear celebrated the launch of security lanes at its 50th airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport.[6] It followed that up with new lanes at Kansas City International Airport at the end of February 2023.[7]

In May 2024, Clear launched lanes at Maui's Kahului Airport, its 57th airport location. It also said it was planning to follow the launch up shortly with new lanes at Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.[8]

In November 2024, Clear debuted new EnVe Pods that will reduce the time it takes to verify travelers—no fingerprint or eye scan will be required. Instead, the pods will use high-resolution, wide-angle cameras to identify users. According to CLEAR, the process will be five times faster than the current system.[9]

Security incidents

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In 2022, Clear's verification service allowed an airline passenger using a false identity to pass through its system; the passenger was also found by the TSA to be carrying ammunition.[10] The company noted in a formal statement that it was due to "a single human error". The program's facial-recognition system for enrolling new customers was also noted as sometimes relying on inadequate photos such as the chin or shoulder.[11]

Two incidents occurred in 2023 where individuals not enrolled in the company's security program were escorted through a TSA security checkpoint without having presented their identification. One of the incidents involved a passenger who had used a boarding pass that was picked out of a trash bin.[12]

The incidents have gathered the attention of the House Homeland Security Committee, with members Bennie Thompson and John Katko in December 2022 requesting that the TSA require all passengers, including those using Clear, have their ID verified by TSA. In August 2023 TSA advised the company and participating airports to increase the number of IDs to be checked by a TSA officer.[13]

Corporate affairs

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Business model

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The business model of Clear involves partnerships with airports, with the company sharing a portion of its revenue with these entities. For example, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) receives 12.5% of Clear's revenue generated at the airport, while San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International Airport receive similar percentages.[14]

While Clear can expedite the security screening process, the effectiveness of TSA's PreCheck program has increased in recent years. In some cases, PreCheck may offer comparable or even faster screening times, potentially reducing the perceived value of Clear's services.[14]

Patents

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The company has received patents for "physical token-less security screening using biometrics", which allows a person to be identified using their individual and distinctive biometric identity that the company creates.[15] The company has been successful in filing and receiving several patents throughout the years. On February 4, 2020, the company was granted the ability to ticket people through their biometric identities. Before this patent, the company was also granted two patents on January 14, 2020, to conduct pre-identification before an individual approached the stationed device and to use individual biometric identities to expedite interactions with people in the close vicinity. To simplify and expedite the process even further, on December 31, 2019, the company was granted a patent to use mobile devices in enrolling into the system.

CLEAR has partnerships with the European company Oberthur Technologies. Oberthur provides CLEAR with identification cards encoded with information that is beyond a normal ID card. They follow the NIST standard FIPS 201 (Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 201) for Personal Identity Verification (PIV), a requirement for all U.S. government employees and contractors.[16]

Anti-terrorism

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In June 2012, CLEAR received certification under the SAFETY Act (Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002) by the United States Department of Homeland Security.[17][18]

Marketing and collaborations

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CLEAR has partnerships with airlines and stadiums. The airline currently partners with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.[19][20][21] This includes partnerships with Major League Baseball and National Football League.[22][23] CLEAR has also partnered with Lyft which grants people a 3-month free trial to test out CLEAR and gives them a $20 voucher for Lyft customers to use towards a trip to any airport.[24]

In April 2023, CLEAR began offering digital identity verification services for LinkedIn users.[25] "Verified" users are able to display a green and blue checkmark on their profile.[26]

CLEAR had a former partnership with car rental company Hertz until the company declared bankruptcy.[27][28]

CLEAR is a member of the FIDO Alliance[29] and the CARIN Alliance.[30]

Revenue

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The company charges its customers $199 per year for a premium program named CLEAR Plus, however, it can be lowered if the user is a member of Delta SkyMiles, United MileagePlus, or holds an American Express Centurion, Platinum, or Green Card. This membership allows them to potentially skip long lines, whether they are at a stadium, an arena, or an airport.[31] By expanding and diversifying their locations, CLEAR also receives additional revenue from sports teams, who pay licensing fees.[32]

Awards

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In June 2019, Clear CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker and President Ken Cornick were given the 2019 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for the New York Region.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Clear Secure, Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 2023-03-02.
  2. ^ Perlow, Jason (June 22, 2009). "CLEAR Airport Verified Identity Pass calls it Quits (Passed)". ZDNet.
  3. ^ Raby, Mark. "Clear airport security alternative relaunches". Slash Gear.
  4. ^ "Technology award winner: CLEAR". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  5. ^ McGrath, Maggie. "As Clear Secure Takes Off In $4.5 Billion IPO, CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker Eyes A 'Frictionless' Future". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  6. ^ "CLEAR Adds New Lanes at Raleigh-Durham International Airport". www.travelmarketreport.com. Retrieved 2023-01-25.
  7. ^ "CLEAR Adds New Lanes at Kansas City International Airport". www.travelmarketreport.com. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  8. ^ "CLEAR Debuts at Maui's Kahului Airport". www.travelmarketreport.com. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  9. ^ "CLEAR Launches EnVe Pods for Faster Airport Verification". www.travelmarketreport.com. 2024-11-25. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  10. ^ Cerullo, Megan (2023-08-01). "TSA probes Clear after it let through a passenger carrying ammo - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  11. ^ "TSA probes Clear after it let through a passenger carrying ammo - CBS Sacramento". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  12. ^ "CLEAR security incidents raise concerns from Congress". POLITICO. 2023-08-07. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  13. ^ Atani, Lori (12 July 2023). "TSA to require additional screening step for some travelers at airports". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b Ford, Brody (2024-11-21). "Clear's Dominance in Airports Could Be Coming to an End". Bloomberg News.
  15. ^ "Wipo Publishes Patent of Alclear for 'Physical Token-Less Security Screening Using Biometrics' (American Inventors)". US Fed News. November 20, 2016.
  16. ^ "Patents Assigned to Alclear LLC - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  17. ^ "CLEAR Receives SAFETY Act Certification by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security". AviationPros.com.
  18. ^ "News Release: S&T Approves 1,000th Anti-Terrorism Technology for SAFETY Act Protections". Department of Homeland Security. 2018-06-18. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  19. ^ "CLEAR enrollment, pricing now available for SkyMiles members". Delta News Hub. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  20. ^ Airlines, United. "United Airlines and CLEAR Partner to Make Travel Easier for MileagePlus® Members". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  21. ^ Harriet Baskas, Special for USA TODAY (30 July 2015). "Alaska Airlines test program replaces boarding passes with fingerprints". USA TODAY.
  22. ^ "MLB partners with Clear for biometric ticketing roll-out". smartseries.sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  23. ^ "Clear Gains NFL Investment to Boost Digital Health Pass". www.sporttechie.com. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  24. ^ McCorvey, J. J. (2018-10-26). "Hate lines? You could speed through the stadium or airport (in return for your personal data)". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  25. ^ Rodriguez, Oscar (2023-04-12). "LinkedIn's new verification features include CLEAR, Microsoft Entra; Services will be available and free to all LinkedIn members". LinkedIn. Archived from the original on 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  26. ^ Warren, Tom (2023-04-12). "LinkedIn gets a free verified badge that lets you prove where you work". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  27. ^ "Is CLEAR still partnered with Hertz?". www.clearme.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  28. ^ Lekach, Sasha (11 December 2018). "Facial recognition speeds up car rental process, but at a privacy cost". Mashable. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  29. ^ "FIDO Alliance Member Companies & Organizations". FIDO Alliance. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  30. ^ "CARIN Board & Participants". CARIN Alliance. Archived from the original on 2022-09-27. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  31. ^ Sharkey, Joe (2012-05-02). "V.I.P. Treatment Eases the Way Through Security". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  32. ^ Levin, Alan and Jonathan Levin (December 2016). "Popcorn! Peanuts! Iris Scan! NBA, MLB Teams Enter High-Tech Age". Bloomberg.Com.
  33. ^ "Technology award winner: CLEAR". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
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