Brazilians will soon need a face scan to open a mobile line. In time they’ll need one to keep the line they already have.
Brazil’s telecom regulator Anatel has made facial biometric checks mandatory for mobile phone registration. The goal is to stop criminals from opening lines with fake or stolen identities.
The rules phase in from 2027. By the end of 2028 every existing line must be re-registered.
What Anatel Decided
The rule is a technical norm called GT-SEG.2026.11 and was published on October 28 (Teletime). An Anatel working group on fraud and scams wrote it.
Operators must compare the customer’s face with an existing biometric record. That can be a government database or a private identity provider whose data was collected with liveness checks (ID Tech).
The face match is a one-to-one check, the same idea behind the biometric authentication on your phone. Operators must offer it in stores and in their official apps and websites. People who can’t complete it get another option.
The Deadlines
- September 30, 2027: new prepaid lines need a face check.
- December 31, 2027: new postpaid lines, number porting, SIM swaps and registration changes follow.
- December 31, 2028: all existing customers must be re-registered.
- From January 2029: lines that still aren’t verified can be suspended and then cancelled.
The rules apply to individual customers and to Brazil’s registered micro-entrepreneurs.
Why Brazil Is Doing This
A phone line in someone else’s name is a common starting point for scams. It can receive the bank codes and messages meant for the real owner.
The idea has been around for a while. In 2025 former communications minister Juscelino Filho introduced a bill requiring face checks to activate prepaid lines (Teletime). His bill noted that about six million lines are switched off in Brazil every month.
The Debate
Supporters say tying every number to a real face will make SIM swap fraud and fake registrations much harder. They see it as a basic safety step for a country where the phone is also the bank.
Critics worry about face data for a whole nation of mobile users being checked and stored. Others point to people who may struggle with the scan, such as older users or those with poor connections.
Anatel says the process must follow Brazil’s data protection law, the LGPD. Our guide to biometric data explains why face data gets extra legal protection in many countries.
Brazil isn’t alone in linking phone numbers to biometrics. It joins a growing list of national ID projects covered in our roundup of uses of biometrics.
Would a face check make you feel safer about your phone number? Or does it hand over too much?
Sources
- Teletime, Anatel makes facial recognition mandatory for mobile line validation, October 28, 2026
- ID Tech, Brazil’s Anatel makes facial biometric checks mandatory for mobile lines, October 2026
- Teletime, Juscelino Filho proposes facial biometrics for prepaid line activation, August 2025
