Facebook face recognition update

When logging into Facebook over the past few days did you receive a notification / popup about Facial Recognition?

The notification refers to facial recognition and basically means that Facebook will no longer scan users faces by default. For those who currently do not have this setting, Facebook will be sending notifications via timelines giving the option to opt-in (image below). Please note, if you do not make a choice when prompted, Face Recognition will automatically be turned off.

As you may remember, Facebook got into hot water over the past couple of years with regards to the collection and storage of biometric data without user consent and, following Mark Zuckerberg’s disastrous testimony to congress in 2018, embarked on a campaign to portray themselves as transparent while returning Facebook to it’s roots.

Facebook introduced Facial Recognition in late 2017 and, if turned on, it will notify users if someone uploads a photo of you, even if you aren’t tagged in the photo. The plus side of this is that you can remain untagged, tag yourself in the photo, or report the photo to have it taken down. The premise behind this feature was to empower users when it comes to their image. Note this feature was not originally released in Canada and the EU due to privacy legislation.

For more information on this update, visit https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/09/update-face-recognition/