Now Facebook knows what you look like
Jun 09, 2011 at 11:05
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Its time to once again check your Facebook privacy settings as the social networks new facial recognition feature goes global.
Launched in the US last year, the tool looks at photos as they are uploaded and scans a users friend list to see if it recognises anybody in them. If it does, it automatically suggests they are tagged.
Aimed at speeding up the process of people tagging their friends in images, facial recognition has now been switched on for millions of users - who were not told that the option would be automatically enabled on their account.
Some users are unhappy that a website knows what they look like, while others have complained about the way the new feature was turned on behind their backs.
The sneaky default setting means it is up to users to turn the option off if they dont want it, instead of enabling it if they do.
The issue at stake isnt so much about facial recognition technology as it is about Facebook eroding the online privacy of its users by stealth, writes Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley from security firm Sophos.
Most Facebook users still don't know how to set their privacy options safely, finding the whole system confusing. It's even harder though to keep control when Facebook changes the settings without your knowledge. The onus should not be on Facebook users having to opt-out of the facial recognition feature, but instead on users having to opt-in.
If youre uncomfortable about being forced to opt in to this new feature, heres how you can disable facial recognition:
* Go to your Facebook account's privacy settings.
* Click on Customise settings.
* Under Things others share you should see an option titled Suggest photos of me to friends. When photos look like me, suggest my name.
* Unfortunately at this point you can't tell whether Facebook has enabled the setting or not, you have to dig deeper.
* Click on Edit settings.
* If Facebook has enabled auto-suggestion of photo tags you will find the option says Enabled.
Source: Yahoo News
Jun 09, 2011 at 11:05
Views (5386) | | 1 | | |
ShareShare retweet Like
Its time to once again check your Facebook privacy settings as the social networks new facial recognition feature goes global.
Launched in the US last year, the tool looks at photos as they are uploaded and scans a users friend list to see if it recognises anybody in them. If it does, it automatically suggests they are tagged.
Aimed at speeding up the process of people tagging their friends in images, facial recognition has now been switched on for millions of users - who were not told that the option would be automatically enabled on their account.
Some users are unhappy that a website knows what they look like, while others have complained about the way the new feature was turned on behind their backs.
The sneaky default setting means it is up to users to turn the option off if they dont want it, instead of enabling it if they do.
The issue at stake isnt so much about facial recognition technology as it is about Facebook eroding the online privacy of its users by stealth, writes Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley from security firm Sophos.
Most Facebook users still don't know how to set their privacy options safely, finding the whole system confusing. It's even harder though to keep control when Facebook changes the settings without your knowledge. The onus should not be on Facebook users having to opt-out of the facial recognition feature, but instead on users having to opt-in.
If youre uncomfortable about being forced to opt in to this new feature, heres how you can disable facial recognition:
* Go to your Facebook account's privacy settings.
* Click on Customise settings.
* Under Things others share you should see an option titled Suggest photos of me to friends. When photos look like me, suggest my name.
* Unfortunately at this point you can't tell whether Facebook has enabled the setting or not, you have to dig deeper.
* Click on Edit settings.
* If Facebook has enabled auto-suggestion of photo tags you will find the option says Enabled.
Source: Yahoo News
