Biometrics

Facial recognition checks

by Mark Rowe

Captcha tests can be a headache, when browsing online, but they are needed for security checks – to verify whether a user is human or a machine. It acts as an additional security measure to help prevent access from unauthorised parties.

Facebook have recently knuckled down on their verification process when accessed via a mobile phone following suspicious activity. Facebook has been prompting some users to upload a photo of their face to verify their identity and prove they are a real person. According to the message shown to users included in the test, Facebook will check the image and ‘permanently delete it from [its] servers’.

The social media company has released very little information about the new image verification process, in an attempt to prevent the new system from being hacked or manipulated. However, what we do know is that Facebook will check the photo to determine whether it is unique, as well as focusing on other areas of suspicious activity. For example, this could include the location where updates are posted from.
Speaking of the development, one Facebook spokesperson said that the new verification process would “help us catch suspicious activity at various points of interaction on the site, including creating an account, sending friend requests, setting up ads payments, and creating or editing ads”.

While nothing has been confirmed, rumours have begun to circulate that Facebook users are experiencing being locked out of their own account whilst waiting for their images to be verified. It’s also not known how long these trials have been taking place, although if Reddit posts are to be believed it would suggest since spring 2017.

Facebook is the latest example using facial recognition technology we have seen following the launch of Apple Face ID on the iPhone X. As an increasing number of the world’s leading companies experiment with this type of recognition technology, we can expect to see its inclusion increase in the coming months and years.

Visit https://www.mediaworks.co.uk/news/facebook-security-photo-captcha-test/.

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