Tesco is installing face-scanning technology at its petrol stations which can target specific advertising based on facial recognition and location.

The technology, developed by Lord Alan Sugar’s digital signage company Amscreen, will use a camera to identify a customer’s gender and approximate age. Using the data, it will then screen an advert tailored to that specific demographic.

The data, which will be rolled out at 450 Tesco forecourts across the UK is already installed at a network of leisure sites across the UK. With 44 units across 44 Powerleague 5-a-side football domes, the technology reaches a weekly audience of more than 300,000 people with a sporty mind-set.

The screens, placed in reception area, capture visitors as they enter and leave the Powerleague centre, giving specific data about how long people were looking at the adverts and how many people saw the advertisement.

The move has sparked concerns from privacy campaigners about the growing use of the technology, but Amscreen chief executive Simon Sugar has said that the OptimEyes technology does not store images or recognise people, and simply “works out gender and sorts customers into one of three age brackets”.