Facebook is expanding how it uses facial recognition to find people in photos. From today, the company will notify users when someone uploads a photo with them in it — even if they’re not tagged. The user will then have the option to add their tag to the photo, leave themselves untagged, or report the photo if they think it’s inappropriate. The feature will also work with profile photos, but won’t be available in Canada or the EU, where data laws restrict the use of facial recognition.
According to Facebook, the new tool is designed to empower users by helping them control their image online. “We really thought this as a privacy feature for a long time. If someone posts a photo of you you might not know about it,” Rob Sherman, Facebook’s head of privacy, told The Verge. “Now, the users can access the photo, and they can communicate to the person who posted it.”
Sherman also says the tool could also be a prompt for nostalgia, alerting people about photos they’ve forgotten. (Although the tool doesn’t work retroactively.) And, of course, it will encourage people to engage with the site, and increase the amount of time they spend on it. It’s like that old thought experiment: if someone uploads a photo of you to Facebook but doesn’t tag you in it, does it show up in engagement metrics? The answer, apparently, is no.
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