Features › Privacy by design

Access control that knows the door, not your face

By default GateStride works from two things: a credential on the person's own phone and a radar sensor that can tell someone is at the door but not who they are. A door camera is optional, facial recognition is off by default, and every record stays on your premises.

By Tom Jin · Updated October 2026 · Early access

Better door data should not mean watching your staff

Office managers want answers that the old card system cannot give: who is still in the building, whether two people walked in on one card, whether the contractor badge from last month still works. The usual way to get those answers is more surveillance. Cameras on every door, face matching at the entrance, a cloud dashboard that stores everyone's comings and goings on a vendor's servers.

Picture a tenant office where the old card reader is swapped for a camera with face matching over a weekend, and nobody explains it on Monday. People are uneasy when they learn their face is being matched, or that their movements sit in a database they cannot see, run by a company they have never heard of. IT and HR then inherit the questions: where is this data, who can read it, how long is it kept, what happens if the vendor is breached, and do we have to tell employees about it?

We wanted GateStride to answer the security questions while collecting as little as possible about the people walking through the door.

Device credentials instead of faces and fingerprints

Each person's phone, watch or tablet carries its own credential key. The private key is created inside the device's secure element (StrongBox on Android, the Secure Enclave on iOS) and never leaves it. At the door, the door node sends a one-time challenge over Bluetooth, the phone signs it, and the node checks the signature. The door sees a signature, not the key and not a biometric.

That means there is no fingerprint template or face print to store, leak or reset. If a phone is lost, you revoke that device in the center, and the change reaches every door node in about a second. The person enrolls a new phone and carries on. Read more on the security page.

Radar that counts people without identifying them

Each door node has Bluetooth receivers and a microwave radar presence sensor. The radar does two jobs. It confirms that a person is physically at the door when a phone answers, which helps against relayed radio signals (see radar presence check). It also counts people passing through, which is how GateStride can flag a possible tailgate when more people pass than phones were authorized.

The radar produces no images and cannot identify who a person is. It reports presence and a count. When the count does not match, the center raises an alert; it does not name the extra person, because it cannot.

Cameras and facial recognition are your choice

Some sites want video at a door, for a lobby or a loading area. GateStride supports an optional door camera. It records like ordinary CCTV and the footage is kept on site.

Facial recognition is optional and off by default. If a customer chooses to turn it on, it should be where the law allows it and with the notices and consents that apply; that compliance rests with the customer. Many offices will never need it, and GateStride works fully without it: hands-free entry, exit tracking, tailgating alerts and roll call all run on device credentials and radar.

All data stays on your premises

The door nodes and the GateStride center both run in your building. There is no GateStride cloud and no vendor relay, so access logs, attendance records, who-is-inside lists and any camera footage stay on equipment you control, under your own backups and retention rules. Administrators manage the system remotely over your own VPN.

The audit log is hash-chained, so later edits or deletions show up as a broken chain. The credentials GateStride uses to talk to your existing access system are stored encrypted and never shown again in the interface. Doors also keep working from a signed credential set when the network is down; see works offline.

Telling employees about monitoring

Any access system records who opened which door and when, and GateStride adds exit records and attendance. Some states require employers to give staff notice of electronic monitoring. Examples include New York Civil Rights Law §52-c, Connecticut §31-48d (which from October 1, 2026 requires naming the locations that are monitored) and Delaware 19 Del. C. §705. Other states and cities have their own rules, and some cover biometrics separately.

Check your state's notice rules, and talk to your own counsel about what applies to your office. We do not provide legal advice. What we can tell you is exactly what GateStride records and where it is stored, which is usually the starting point for any notice.

A practical tip: when you roll GateStride out, tell staff plainly what it does. It reads a credential on their phone, it counts people at the door without seeing them, it records entries and, if you use it, exits, and it keeps all of that in the building. A short, honest explanation answers many questions before they are asked.

What it does not do

• GateStride is not anonymous. It records which enrolled device opened which door and when, and exit and attendance records where you use them.
• Radar cannot identify the extra person in a tailgate. It flags a count mismatch; someone still has to follow up.
• Keeping data on site means your own backups, retention and access policies apply. GateStride does not host or back up your records for you.
• We do not provide legal advice or write your employee notices. Check your state's rules with your own counsel.

Questions

Does GateStride use facial recognition?

Not by default. It is optional and off unless the customer turns it on, and compliance then rests with the customer. Everything else works without it.

Can the radar see or identify people?

No. The microwave radar detects that someone is at the door and counts people passing through. It produces no images and cannot tell who a person is.

Where is our data stored?

On your premises, on the GateStride center and door nodes in your building. There is no GateStride cloud and no vendor relay.

Is the door camera required?

No. It is optional. If you add one, it records like ordinary CCTV and the footage stays on site.

Do we have to tell employees about GateStride?

Some states, including New York, Connecticut and Delaware, require notice of electronic monitoring. Check your state's notice rules with your own counsel; we do not provide legal advice.

What does the door actually receive from a phone?

A signature over a one-time challenge. The private key stays in the phone's secure element and never leaves it.

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Stock photo. Kantech and EntraPass are trademarks of their owners; GateStride is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by them.