iOS app blocks facial recognition, biometric authentication coming to Facebook Messenger for Apple

A newly released iOS camera app anonymizes the user in photos and videos by obscuring their faces, and even removing their bodies, writes Slashgear.

Dubbed Anonymous Camera, the app is free and leverages machine learning and facial recognition to protect the identity of people who wish to keep it private, such as whistleblowers, protesters and activists.

The technology places a solid circle over the face instead of blurring it and supports split screen recording. The entire process takes place on the device and not in the cloud. A pro version without watermarks is available for $2.

Another iOS feature soon to be available is message lock for Facebook Messenger, according to 9 to 5 mac. Already available on WhatsApp, the feature will allow users to access the app with Face ID and Touch authentication.

Users can choose if biometric authentication is always requested or only after a certain time. Apparently, the feature cannot be activated on individual conversations. Facebook is testing the feature on a select number of users, but it may make it available for a wider audience in the future to ensure privacy.

“We want to give people more choices and controls to protect their private messages, and recently, we began testing a feature that lets you unlock the Messenger app using your device’s settings,” the company told Engadget. “It’s an added layer of privacy to prevent someone else from accessing your messages.”

Article Topics

access control  |  biometrics  |  Face ID  |  facial recognition  |  fingerprint biometrics  |  iOS  |  iPhone  |  mobile app  |  redaction  |  Touch ID