Facebook brings facial recognition back for U.S. users
Facebook has just announced that its facial recognition feature to generate tag suggestions has been re-enabled for U.S. users, after the company says it made “technical improvements.”
Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, the social network’s facial recognition features have been a major bone of contention for many users who feel it violates their privacy. In Europe, pressure ultimately led Facebook to remove the biometric function for its user base within the European Union.
Also reported in The Next Web, Facebook first rolled out the facial recognition feature in 2010 and eventually pushed photo tag suggestions to other countries in 2011.
The company suggests this function was taken down to make “technical improvements,” and The Next Web report also indicates that Facebook doesn’t appear to have made any privacy changes to the feature, as it is still on by default. In the report, The Next Web also gives instructions for those looking to opt-out.
“This is the same feature that millions of people previously used to help them quickly share billions of photos with friends and family,” Facebook said on its Facebook and Privacy page.
In 2012, Facebook completed the acquisition of Face.com, a prevalent Tel Aviv-based technology company that has developed a platform for efficient facial recognition in photos.
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