Facebook facial recognition sparks security concerns

Sophos recommend disabling feature

Facebook facial recognition sparks security concerns. online, internet, facebook, Sophos, Security, 0

7 June 2011 15:15 GMT / By Paul Lamkin

Last year Facebook introduced face recognition technology for easier photo tagging with the feature being rolled out in the States.

Well now we're hearing that the addition has reached our green and pleasant land, although it's not all bright eyes and big smiles unfortunately.

Online security guru Sophos has warned that the new feature means that this has led to an abundance of people being tagged who may not have wished to be, as the option to opt-in has not been given to users.

"Many people feel distinctly uncomfortable about a site like Facebook learning what they look like, and using that information without their permission," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at 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. Facebook users should have to 'opt-in' to the facial recognition feature, rather than the onus being on them to 'opt-out'."

Sophos has advised changing your privacy settings by disabling the "Suggest photos of me to friends" option.

Or you could leave it, and risk being accidentally labelled as the gorilla from your auntie's trip to the zoo. Or worse - his behind.

Full tags

Sophos, Security, Online, Internet, Facebook