Facebook and Instagram added a facial recognition feature

Facial recognition technology is expected soon on Facebook and Instagram: The Meta company announced that it has begun to test the use of facial recognition technology to quickly restore an account, and to help in the event of an account hack or concern about the use of the user’s image.

The new technology developed by Meta will be used first and foremost in cases of account hacking, to help people regain access to their accounts. If Meta believes an account has been hacked, it currently requires the account holder to verify their identity before regaining access by uploading an official certificate that includes their name. Meta has now announced that it will look into using video selfies as a means for people to verify their identity and regain access to their accounts.

Meanwhile, if Meta systems suspect that an ad or publication may be fraudulent containing an image of a public figure, the company will try to use facial recognition technology to compare the faces in the ad against the original profile pictures on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta message: “Online scammers often use images of public figures, such as content creators or celebrities, to lure people into engaging with ads that lead to scam sites, where they are asked to share personal information or send money. This scam, commonly known as celebbait ( celeb-bait), violates meta policy and harms people.

Meta added: “If a match is made and the ad turns out to be a fraud, it will be blocked. After that, the company will immediately delete any face data generated from ads for a one-time comparison, regardless of whether our system finds a match or not, and it will not be used for any other purpose.”

Meta has already begun testing the technology among a small group of celebrities and public figures and has shown promising results, it says, in increasing the speed and effectiveness of identifying and enforcing anti-fraud policies.

In the coming weeks, Meta will begin displaying in-app notifications to a larger group of public figures who have been affected by these types of scams, letting them know that they are covered by this protection. However, public figures included under this protection will be able to opt out at any time through the account.

As mentioned, Meta is simultaneously exploring new ways to help people regain access to their accounts. Meta explained that they receive many inquiries from subscribers who forget their password, lose their device or when a crook has committed fraud and made them give up their password. If Meta believes an account has been compromised, it requires the account holder to verify their identity before regaining access by uploading an ID or official certificate that includes their name.

The company will now test video selfies as a means for people to verify their identities and regain access to hacked accounts. Meta will use facial recognition technology to compare the selfie to the profile pictures of the account they are trying to access. This is similar to the identity verification process for unlocking the phone, or accessing other apps.

When someone uploads a selfie video, it will be encrypted and stored securely and will not be visible to their profile, friends or other people on Facebook or Instagram. Meta added that it will immediately delete any face data generated after this comparison, regardless of whether or not a match is found.

Meta added: “Selfie verification will expand people’s options to regain account access, take a short amount of time, and be the easiest way for people to verify their identity. Although hackers will continue to try to exploit account recovery tools, this method of authentication will be harder to abuse than Traditional and document-based identity verification”.