What TSA's Airport Security Body Scanners Actually See When They Scan You

Going through all the security checks and procedures at an airport can be both stressful and annoying. What items does the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) ban or allow you to bring? Will your luggage get lost? And, most awkwardly, do those full-body scanners actually show you naked to the TSA worker?

The concern is well-founded. Previous TSA body scanning technology could, indeed, show a naked image of people. This was met with public outrage concerning personal privacy and whether it technically constituted as a strip search. There was also the concern about the X-ray technology used and how that radiation, even in a small dose, could affect the varying passengers who went through.

Thankfully, those old body scanners have been replaced with new ones. These new scanners do not show a detailed image of the body and use no X-ray technology. The process is more transparent all around. However, false alarms on the scanners can still require you to endure a pat-down search.

TSA's new screening technology utilizes advanced millimeter wave imaging. It does not use an X-ray and so eliminates that concern. The scanner uses non-ionizing radio-frequency energy to produce an image of the passenger, and TSA assures it has met all health and safety regulations. This new image is not detailed, and the TSA officer cannot see the real you in it.

TSA security rules state, "TSA has strict privacy standards when using advanced imaging technology to protect your privacy. Advanced imaging technology uses automated target recognition software that eliminates passenger-specific images and instead auto-detects potential threats by indicating their location on a generic outline of a person. The generic outline is identical for all passengers."

Now, instead of a naked person, what the TSA officer is seeing is more like a cartoon-style base of a person. It shows a standard image for every passenger, so things like body build or height won't change in the image. It will be generic. Even better is that you, as the passenger, can see what is on the screen during this process, so you don't have to worry about privacy concerns.

Since these new machines just identify where on a person something suspicious might be, that means they are likely to misidentify things that are not actually threats. While built to detect knives, explosives, and other weapons, allowed items, such as an AirTag in a pocket, can trigger false alarms. Hair clips, body piercings, and clothes with wire for their structure can also trigger these alarms. Weirdly enough, sweat will also trigger an alarm due to the way the technology bounces off the water on your body. So try to dress lightly and stay calm.

If you set off an alarm, unfortunately, you'll be pulled aside for a pat-down search. You'll also have to undergo a pat-down if you refuse to go through the scanner. The TSA officer who does this will be of the same gender as you, and they will use the back of their hands. That doesn't necessarily stop the uncomfortableness of being checked in private areas while in a public space by a stranger, though.

If you are traveling with children, they are also required to go through these scanners. They can be carried if they are scared or very young. If the child sets off the alarm, TSA officers tend to try to figure out what could have caused it to avoid having to do any pat-downs on children. For the child, this can be a very upsetting and scary process, especially when they are already worried about airplane turbulence or whether they can bring their toy on the flight.