Facebook introduces new face recognition tools to manage your identity


To help people better manage their identity on Facebook, the social media giant has launched new facial recognition features.

The new features will help you find photos that you’re not tagged in and help you detect when others might be attempting to use your image as their profile picture.

“We want people to feel confident when they post pictures of themselves on Facebook so we’ll soon begin using face recognition technology to let people know when someone else uploads a photo of them as their profile picture,” Joaquin Quinonero Candela, Director, Applied Machine Learning, said in a blog post on Wednesday.

“We’re also introducing a way for people who are visually impaired to know more about who is in the photos they encounter on Facebook,” Candela added.

Soon, you will begin to see a simple on/off switch instead of settings for individual features that use face recognition technology.

“We designed this as an on/off switch because people gave us feedback that they prefer a simpler control than having to decide for every single feature using face recognition technology,” the post read.

Since 2010, face recognition technology has helped bring people closer together on Facebook.

Facebook has introduced new features in most places, except in Canada and the EU where the company does not offer face recognition technology.

“You’re in control of your image on Facebook and can make choices such as whether to tag yourself, leave yourself untagged, or reach out to the person who posted the photo if you have concerns about it,” Candela added.