File photo: Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks on stage during the annual Facebook F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 18, 2017. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)
Biometric identification is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it allows for a unique way of securing your devices without the user needing to remember anything. On the other, if your biometric data gets hacked, it can't be changed like a password can. The risk of that happening makes many wary of using biometrics, but that isn't stopping Facebook from testing facial recognition.
According to TechCrunch, Facebook is testing a facial recognition system as a way of getting a locked account unlocked. Matt Navarra of TNW posted the tweet you see below along with the facial recognition check Facebook uses for identification. He received the details from a social media researcher.
Facebook has since confirmed that facial recognition is being tested by issuing the following statement to TechCrunch: "We are testing a new feature for people who want to quickly and easily verify account ownership during the account recovery process. This optional feature is available only on devices you've already used to log in. It is another step, alongside two-factor authentication via SMS, that we're taking to make sure account owners can confirm their identity."
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Unlike Apple, which is using Face ID facial recognition to unlock the iPhone X every time a user wishes to use it, Facebook is clearly limiting its use to account recovery. Even then, the feature is optional. However, if it proves successful Facebook will likely be very tempted to expand its use. It is, after all, very convenient for a user to look into a camera as a security check.
This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
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