VerifyFaces unveils facial recognition background check service for public

Australia and U.S.-based face biometrics provider VerifyFaces has unveiled its consumer-facing facial recognition service which can be used for background checks. Unlike image-only searches such as PimEyes, VerifyFaces combines facial recognition and text searches.

From $11, individual users can conduct a search on the company’s website in four ways: by photo or video, name and birthday, phone number, and home address.

The company says that the system draws data from two sources. The first is advanced artificial intelligence bots scanning billions of online images for matching facial algorithms. The second is Verify’s own database.

In the latter, the biometric firm says there are mainly criminal data, arrests, newspaper articles, and images from public sites. All of it, Verify claims, comes from open-source information.

“Verify is a powerful tool that we expect will be a game changer in the world of background check services,” says Michael Doherty, Verify’s president and co-founder.

“No one else offers the public the ability to put a name to a face. There are so many useful applications for this service for consumers and businesses.”

Information returned in a consumer-level search includes a “people trace report (residential address/phone number – including history, DOB, and social security number validation),” criminal report, civil court report and a web report, all with web links.

The enterprise account reports also come with FCRA-accredited credit reports, with 300 more search types on the way.

The site states that “If you only know the name and state where they live, it is unlikely you will get an accurate result. If there are less than 30 matches, we will return the possible matches… You will always get the most reliable results when you refine your search with the person’s date of birth and/or an address.” If the searcher does not find who they are looking for, they can submit an additional search at no cost.

To guarantee the safety of children, the company also explains its technology is designed to filter out photos of individuals below 18 years of age.

“There will be instances when you are searching somebody who may be in that 18-20 age group that the algorithm interprets as too close to the 18-year-old threshold and opts to omit from search results to be safe,” reads the company’s website.

Verify also reportedly has a filter in place to automatically exclude photos containing nudity or gore.

The company says users can contact them to remove any personal data that Verify has obtained from social media. Verify sustains it will not remove data available to the public ‘that is true’ and not from social media.

Search history such as the names of the searcher or persons sought are not retained. Verify confirmed the commercial edition of its tool is scheduled for public release in early 2023.

Article Topics

background checks  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  VerifyFaces