How Technology Can Improve Public Safety Without Invading Privacy

Detect Safety Patterns With De-Identified Data

Technology can improve safety by detecting patterns, not tracking people. Across hospitals, transit systems and other shared spaces, aggregated, de-identified data can reveal recurring hazards, confusion or breakdowns before they cause harm. Trust depends on collecting only what is needed, explaining how it will be used and keeping humans accountable for the actions that follow. – Amy Brown, Authenticx

Process Sensitive Data Locally

Process sensitive data locally instead of streaming it to a central server. That single architectural choice does more for trust than any policy document. Edge processing lets a system flag a real safety concern without ever building a searchable history of who passed through a space. Safety and privacy aren’t a trade-off; they’re a design decision. – Nitesh Sinha, Sacumen

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?

Build Compliance Into Technology Design

In my experience, the tension between technological opportunities and regulatory constraints often creates polarization. This leads either to missed chances for real change, when regulations are allowed to be overly restrictive, or to ethical violations, when tech purely dominates. The path forward is “innovation by design,” where technology and regulatory compliance strike the right balance. It’s not easy, but it is the right way. – Nino Letteriello, FIT Group

Detect Hazards Without Collecting Personal Data

In my experience, technology builds trust when it focuses on awareness rather than surveillance. Tools that detect hazards, monitor occupancy levels or identify emergency situations without collecting personally identifiable information can improve safety while respecting privacy. Clear governance, limited data retention and transparency about what is and is not being tracked are what turn protection into trust. – Laxmi Vanam

Use Anonymous Sensors To Spot Risks

Use anonymous sensors to identify hazards, overcrowding or unusual activity without tracking individual identities. The key is to collect only what is needed, keep it brief and be transparent about its use. Safety technology should protect the public without turning every shared space into surveillance. – Paul A Mohabir, Transervice Logistics

Set Clear Limits On Data Collection

Privacy today is less about avoiding data collection entirely and more about setting clear limits. Technologies like facial recognition and behavioral sensors already exist. The key is deciding what data is truly necessary, how long it is stored and who can access it. Most importantly, people should know what is being collected so they can make informed choices about the spaces they use. – Artem Lalaiants, RiskSeal, Inc.

Monitor Conditions Instead Of Identities

Use technology to verify conditions, not identify everyone in the space. Privacy-preserving sensors, edge processing and short-lived data can flag crowding, hazards or aggression without building a permanent identity record. The guardrail is authority: Who can see the signal, act on it, retain it or combine it with other data must be limited, logged and reviewed. – Craig Davies, Gathid

Automatically Delete Unneeded Safety Data

Build safety systems with deliberate forgetting. A shared space may need technology to detect a fall, crowd surge or blocked exit, but that does not mean it needs a permanent record of everyone present. Process signals locally, trigger an action and then discard the raw data. Privacy improves when deletion is part of the architecture, not a policy someone must remember to enforce later. – Nirmal Jingar, Wayfair

Use Public Information To Spot Warning Signs

Creating safer public spaces is about making better use of information that’s already public, not just data volume. When organizations can spot credible warning signs earlier, they can respond more effectively without relying on intrusive surveillance or sacrificing privacy. – Jonathan Graff, Liferaft

Build Privacy Into Safety Technology

The most sustainable approach is privacy by design. Instead of collecting more personal data, organizations should use techniques such as edge processing, anonymization and federated analytics to detect risks while minimizing data exposure. Safety and public trust are strengthened when transparency, governance and proportional data use are built into the architecture from the outset. – Gopichand Mannava, State of Connecticut

Make Data Access Temporary And Purpose-Bound

Employ purpose-bound access, not permanent surveillance rights. Safety systems can keep sensitive data locked by default and grant temporary, auditable access only when a verified incident occurs, which expires automatically afterward. Trust improves when technology controls not just what is collected but who can see it, why and for how long. – Akhilesh Sharma, A3Logics Inc.

Create Verifiable Public Audit Trails

Let’s take a look at this from the opposite angle: Use technology to make a specific space accountable to the public, not the reverse. Cryptographic transparency logs can prove how long footage is kept, who accessed it and that deletion actually happened—claims that “trust us” signage never backs up. Safety tech erodes trust when it’s unverifiable. A camera with a public audit trail protects people twice: from harm and from the watchers. – Lev Yatsemyrskyi, Qube Research & Technologies

Keep Safety Technology On Personal Devices

The most privacy-preserving approach keeps the safety tech on the person, not in cameras watching everyone. A phone or wearable can share encrypted, opt-in location data with family, fire geofenced alerts when an incident is reported nearby, and flag areas with elevated risk from aggregated public crime data. Processing stays on-device and is permitted by the individual, so the space gets safer without central tracking. – Luke Wallace, Bottle Rocket

Make Threat-Detection Rules Transparent

Most of the debate is about collecting less data, but trust breaks on a different question: Who decides what the system treats as a threat? A sensor can be perfectly anonymous and still flag one group’s normal behavior as suspicious because someone set that line, and no one affected can see it. Publish what triggers an alert and let the public contest it. People trust a rule they can question. – Anna Drobakha, Groupe SEB

Use Event-Based Intelligence To Detect Risks

Design for verified outcomes, not pervasive surveillance. Privacy-preserving AI, edge processing and event-based intelligence can detect risk without continuously identifying people. The strongest safety systems minimize data, maximize accountability and earn trust by making privacy a core design principle—not a compliance afterthought. – Rajjie Sarmey, FutureProof CXO™

Give Users Control Over Their Privacy

Technology can make public spaces safer without sacrificing privacy by giving people clear and granular privacy controls. The rules should be simple, transparent and easy to adjust. People are more likely to trust technology when they understand what data is collected and how it’s used and can control it. – Alex Spokoiny, Check Point Software

Verify Access Without Revealing Identity

Use selective-disclosure credentials for access control. A visitor can prove they hold a valid ticket or meet an age rule without sharing a name or reusable identifier. I would log only the proof result and its expiry time. This keeps restricted spaces controlled without creating a movement history that can be breached or misused. – Kayode Faturoti, Breet