Traveling this summer? Maybe don’t let the airport scan your face.

Here’s something I’m embarrassed to admit: Even though I’ve been reporting on the problems with facial recognition for half a dozen years, I have allowed my face to be scanned at airports. Not once. Not twice. Many times.

There are lots of reasons for that. For one thing, traveling is stressful. I feel time pressure to make it to my gate quickly and social pressure not to hold up long lines. (This alone makes it feel like I’m not truly consenting to the face scans so much as being coerced into them.) Plus, I’m always getting “randomly selected” for additional screenings, maybe because of my Middle Eastern background. So I get nervous about doing anything that might lead to extra delays or interrogations.

But the main reason I haven’t declined airport face scans is actually very simple: I had no idea I could opt out.