Along with the usual plethora of algorithm changes, Facebook users are beginning to see notifications letting them know that facial recognition technology, which was mostly lying dormant, can now be used for features other than tagging if they decide to opt in. Users can take advantage of the tech, which Facebook has been refining for years, to track if your face has been posted on the mega-popular social media site, find photos you weren’t previously tagged in, and help visually-impaired people recognize people in photos.
According to various outlets such as Gizmodo and The Verge, some users have been seeing the following notification since December, but a massive amount of notifications have been rolled out since a California court enforced the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook says this is a coincidence, but the act requires notice and consent from users when biometric data is collected.
https://twitter.com/waltmossberg/status/968462612345380865
Many tech gurus want people to be aware that when you opt in, it also applies to features Facebook will add later. Currently, the European Union and Canada will not allow the feature due to stricter laws on the collection of facial data. Multiple questions about invasions of privacy and whether Facebook is deleting the data when people opt out of the ability to use the tech.