Facebook has rolled out a new feature that relies on facial recognition technology to automatically identify users in photos posted to the site and recommend people that others can tag in these images.
This new feature is basically Facebook’s way of creating a huge, photo-searchable database of its users. But it also raises questions about what Facebook does with this user data once it collects it and who else is accessing that data after it’s collected.
Facebook’s new facial-recognition feature is getting some unwelcome recognition from a prominent privacy group and lawmakers in the U.S. and European Union. Of course, you can “opt-out” of the facial recognition service, but it’s a pretty weaksolution. Because, opting out won’t keep Facebook from gathering your private data and recognizing your face — it’ll just keep people from tagging you automatically.
While facial recognition technology has exciting possibilities – and is already being utilized to some extent by Google and Apple – there are some obvious privacy concerns as well. Many Facebook users have complained on the site that the feature was turned on without their consent.
Unfortunately, Facebook has a (very bad) history of introducing new features without letting users know in advance. Moreover, Facebook has found itself in hot water a number of times in recent years for making changes that have raised privacy concerns.
Hence we would probably not be too surprised if they don’t listen to all these fresh complaints and end up taking no actions to modify the feature. But if you are wondering how to turn OFF the new facial recognition feature in Facebook, here is how.
Facebook’s new facial-recognition feature is getting some unwelcome recognition from a prominent privacy group and lawmakers in the U.S. and European Union. Of course, you can “opt-out” of the facial recognition service, but it’s a pretty weaksolution. Because, opting out won’t keep Facebook from gathering your private data and recognizing your face — it’ll just keep people from tagging you automatically.
While facial recognition technology has exciting possibilities – and is already being utilized to some extent by Google and Apple – there are some obvious privacy concerns as well. Many Facebook users have complained on the site that the feature was turned on without their consent.
Unfortunately, Facebook has a (very bad) history of introducing new features without letting users know in advance. Moreover, Facebook has found itself in hot water a number of times in recent years for making changes that have raised privacy concerns.
Hence we would probably not be too surprised if they don’t listen to all these fresh complaints and end up taking no actions to modify the feature. But if you are wondering how to turn OFF the new facial recognition feature in Facebook, here is how.
How to Disable Facebook’s Facial Recognition Feature?
1. Go to the “Account” tab in the top right hand corner
2. Click on “Privacy settings“
3. Click “Customize settings“
4. Scroll down to “Things others share“
5. Click “Edit settings” next to “Suggest photos of me to friends”.
6. Select “Disable” or “Enable” from the drop-down....
