Facebook will let you turn off facial recognition with one switch
Facebook is letting you decide whether or not you want your face to be recognized.
On Tuesday, Facebook released a new setting that lets users easily manage the facial recognition software across the social network, the company announced in a blog post.
For those who don't want Facebook's software to recognize them and tell other people about it, users can now eliminate it with one switch. Facebook users can turn their setting to "none" and therefore their name will never be suggested for friends to tag in a photo or video.
"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 blog post reads.
If users keep facial recognition on, they'll have access to more settings on tagging.
Facebook will now notify users if their face appears in an image even if they haven't yet been tagged by a user. The identified user can decide to tag themselves or, as Facebook suggested, "reach out to the person who posted it" if there are any concerns about it — like maybe when you're not smiling or there's a red solo cup in the photo.
The update also will let users know if someone else is using a picture of themselves as their profile picture — a tactic often used to catfish users.
"We’re doing this to prevent people from impersonating others on Facebook," the blog post reads.
Timed with this announcement, Facebook revealed new tools for people with visual impairments.
The new settings are available in most places where Facebook operates, except in Canada and in the European Union, where Facebook doesn't offer its facial recognition technology in the first place.
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
