How to turn off Facebook's facial recognition feature

Developments in AI have also lead to its diversification. Apple’s latest iPhone comes with a face unlock option, and that’s evidence that AI can be quickly trained to recognise faces and facial features. Facebook isn’t a novice when it comes to integrating AI and apps. It has, since a long time, suggested people or pages you follow to tag in your photos.

It also reads the objects in the photos you upload. However, the company stated in December that it plans to broaden its facial recognition features in order to strengthen security. This can help close fake accounts and notify the user whenever a picture or video of theirs is uploaded.

In today’s world of privacy and security, this feature can be thought of as a boon. With profile guards and web apps that show the people who have visited your profile, the concerns around facial recognition are probably warranted. Nobody would think twice about using it.

However, it also poses a bigger problem. Facebook’s algorithm will run through your images and that means it also stores the data after processing. While this is purely to train the algorithm, the notion is unsettling and a cause for worry to some. But don’t fret, Facebook allows you to turn off this feature and use the app without it.

Facebook announced that such a choice would be available for users and we’ve waited for sometime before they rolled it out. It’s finally out and let’s look at the ways one can turn this feature on or off.

From the web

If you’re a web person, using Facebook only through a browser, then you’ll need to first visit Facebook in order to modify this setting. Once the page has been loaded, move your cursor to the blue bar on top upon which your profile and notification icons sit. Beside this, you’ll see an inverted arrow.

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Click on it to reveal a drop-down menu and open the 'Settings’ page. You’ll see a page called 'General account settings’. On the left, several options will be listed, under which 'Face Recognition’ is present. Open that and there’s a display message with an edit option. Click on it and choose 'No.’ Facial recognition will be turned off.

Through a phone

If you browse Facebook using a phone, this setting can be altered through the app itself. Open the app and on the extreme right, you’ll notice the overflow button. These are three horizontal lines, click on it and the settings section will slide into view. Tap on 'Privacy shortcuts’. You’ll see a long list, scroll to the end and tap on 'More Settings.’

Here, you’ll find the 'Face Recognition’ option. Modify it by selecting 'No.’