• Articles
    • Editorial Articles
    • Research Articles
    • WatchGuard Articles
  • The 443 Podcast
  • Threat Landscape
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contribute to Secplicity

Secplicity - Security Simplified

Powered by WatchGuard Technologies

Face Recognition Removed from Facebook But Added to Metaverse

November 8, 2021 By Trevor Collins

Facebook’s face recognition has one of the largest training databases in the world, built from photos that users have uploaded since Facebook’s inception, but that database’s time may be coming to an end. In a blog post on Facebook they recently announced that they are going to remove the controversial face recognition technology from Facebook. 

“We’re shutting down the Face Recognition system on Facebook. People who’ve opted in will no longer be automatically recognized in photos and videos and we will delete more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates.” Facebook stated. 

But they aren’t dropping it completely. It has recently come out that Facebook, now rebranded to Meta, will continue to use face recognition in their Metaverse products according to a response to Vox.  

Meta’s vision is to create Metaverse to act as an artificial reality with an avatar that looks like you and can move around in a virtual world to interact with others, without you ever having to leave your bedroom. The foundation for this virtual environment, the Oculus headset, has already been out for many years.  

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also announced his intention to make Metaverse their primary focus so Meta’s actual use of face recognition may not even decrease. In a Facebook blog post, Zuckerbery said, “In the coming years, I expect people will transition from seeing us primarily as a social media company to seeing us as a metaverse company.”  

Privacy and bias concerns from critics about face recognition have made Facebook’s face recognition very unpopular. Perhaps Meta will use face recognition in a different way that won’t make its users worry, but I won’t hold my breath for it.   

Share This:

Related

Filed Under: Editorial Articles

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The 443 Podcast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading white-hat hackers and security researchers. Listen Now
the 443 podcast

Threat Landscape

Filter and view Firebox Feed data by type of attack, region, country, and date range. View Now
threat landscape

Top Posts

  • Cybersecurity News: Malvertising, Ransomware, and Alleged IRS Breach
  • Law Enforcement Infiltrate and Seize Hive Ransomware Operation
  • The RCE Vulnerability That Wasn’t
  • Cybersecurity News: ACLU Unveils Mass Surveillance Program, (More) Malvertising, and Breaches

Email Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest security news and threat analysis delivered straight to your inbox

By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.


The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WatchGuard Technologies.

Stay in Touch

Recent Posts

  • CISA Warns of Weaponized RMM Software
  • Cybersecurity News: ACLU Unveils Mass Surveillance Program, (More) Malvertising, and Breaches
  • Law Enforcement Infiltrate and Seize Hive Ransomware Operation
  • Report Roundup
  • Cybersecurity News: Malvertising, Ransomware, and Alleged IRS Breach
View All

Search

Archives

Copyright © 2023 WatchGuard Technologies · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use