Facial recognition search engine claims 50K new photos of missing people

FaceCheck.ID has supposedly added 50,000 photos to its database. At the time of writing, the website has more than 920,000 “faces” on its platform, which also advertises its ability to help “avoid dangerous criminals” and to “verify if someone is real.”

Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, but registered in Belize, FaceCheck.ID is a facial recognition search engine apparently designed to help locate missing persons, combat human trafficking, and assist medical professionals in identifying unconscious patients. Its website, however, appears to appeal more to those looking to “keep their family safe” from criminals, sex offenders and suchlike.

“Every new photo increases the chances of finding someone who is missing,” Lee Chong, president of FaceCheck.ID, claims in a press statement. “We want to make it easier for families and communities to find their loved ones,” he adds. FaceCheck.ID sells searches on its platform, and accepts payment only in cryptocurrency.

Biometric Update emailed questions to Chong, asking how the photos were acquired and exactly how the site will help those looking for missing persons, but did not receive a reply.

Using facial recognition technology, Chong’s platform matches photos with images available online, such as on social media and public websites. It can also match images found on illicit websites. The platform sells packages such as “Rookie Sleuth,” which comes with 150 credits (a search costs three credits), and “Private Eye” that comes with 400 credits and a lengthier time in which to use them.

Despite the law enforcement lingo, the company says its service is “For educational purposes only,” and denies responsibility for any third party integrations.

Those concerned about privacy can use “Removal Request” from the site’s dropdown menu, which allows individuals to remove their photos from the database at any time.

Users have to upload an image of themselves in order to remove photos from the platform. Uploaded images, if found to match those on its database, are permanently deleted along with stored images, according to the website.

In October, two Harvard students grabbed headlines after converting Meta’s smart glasses into a device that automatically captures people’s faces with facial recognition and runs them through face search engines FaceCheck.ID and PimEyes. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio released a video of themselves using the smart glasses to identify people on the street and look up their personal information. PimEyes responded, with the company claiming the integration could have “irreversible consequences.”

The scalability of the smart glasses app came from the integration of FaceCheck.ID’s API, which was launched in 2022, according to IPVM. The article says that FaceCheck is more intrusive, due to its use of social media images. Scraping images violates several platforms’ terms of service.

PimEyes also restricts bulk searches, while FaceCheck.ID does not.

Both PimEyes and FaceCheck.ID were also accessed hundreds of times by New Zealand police, an audit found earlier this year.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  FaceCheck  |  facial recognition