Facebook Making Facial Recognition Function Easier to Opt Out Of

Facial recognition software, while all marvelously twenty-first century, creeps some people out in a big way, as companies that have implemented it are beginning to find out.

Earlier this year, social networking site Facebook implemented a facial recognition solution ostensibly to help people “tag (News – Alert)” their photographs better. (The application can automatically recognize who is in the photo and tag them automatically.)

The technology scans photos that are uploaded to Facebook (News – Alert), compares faces in those photos with previous pictures, then tries to match faces and suggest name tags, reports Business Insider. When a match is found, Facebook alerts the person uploading the photos and invites them to tag it (identify the person in the photo by name).

Not everybody liked the convenience. Privacy groups complained, and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen came calling, sending a letter to the company in June informing it that the application invaded users’ privacy.

Today, Facebook has announced that it will make the function easier to turn off for people who feel it’s just a little too Jason Bourne for their Facebook profile. The company has run ads telling members about the feature and offering instructions about how to opt out.

“People across the country using Facebook will be more aware of our personalized privacy settings, and how they can be used to benefit their experience on the site,” said Tim Sparapani, director of public policy at Facebook. “We hope that people on Facebook will find the results to be helpful and useful.”

Jepsen is satisfied, he said in a statement today.

“Facebook has made significant changes that will provide better service and greater privacy protection to its users, not only in Connecticut, but across the country,” said Jepsen. “The company has been cooperative and diligent in its response.”

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News – Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.

Tracey Schelmetic is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Tracey’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell

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Should RIM launch a device all about social network integration?

Social networking tends to be a big part of a person’s life, especially if they’ve built a connection between friends, acquaintances and family members through the Internet. There are different ways to get this done, but obviously Facebook’s name comes to mind for most anyone talking about social networking. We’ve already seen the company tied to a device with a dedicated button, thanks to the HTC ChaCha, or better known as the HTC Status. Is social networking something that can lift a company out of the darkness? Specifically, if Research In Motion were to focus on social networking, would things turn around?

Research In Motion’s presence in the mobile market is a strenuous one, and many people believe that the company may not be around for much longer – at least, not in the same capacity as it is now. There’s been plenty of discussion about what RIM could do to put the BlackBerry name back into the limelight, so here’s another avenue the company could possibly take. While social networking is huge in of itself, the ability to have it tied into our mobile phones is a key element for some folks. It’s also something that the phone manufacturers take very seriously, as integrating services like Twitter or Facebook is a nice bullet point for the features list.

But can a company like Research In Motion, which over the years has been primarily focused on the business market, make a pretty drastic switch to the social networking side of things, and actually prosper? There’s no doubt that RIM needs to make some changes in plenty of different categories, but integrating networks like the aforementioned may equal some changes to their phones as well. Releasing a device like the BlackBerry Bold Touch, but with a heavy twist in the software (BlackBerry 7) towards social network, may bring more potential customers to the plate.

After all, integrating social networking doesn’t just provide a new experience for the user (which it does), but it also opens doors to a whole new market for Research In Motion. No longer will it be about the business user, or someone who just wants a killer physical keyboard. By applying these new services and features into the OS, teenagers and other users who would primarily go for other smartphones will take a second look at a BlackBerry.

The reason I’m asking all this, is because according to RIM’s BlackBerry Facebook page, they’ve got something “new, shiny and social all over” coming down the pipe here shortly. As in, the page is apparently unveiling more details regarding this new “something” today.  While “new and shiny” are great words by themselves, it’s the “social all over” that piqued my interest. It’s a strategy that I’ve been wondering about for the makers of BlackBerry for quite some time now, and I’m wondering if the higher-ups at the Waterloo-based company have begun to change their outlook to incorporate a wider audience for their handsets.

Then again, it could just be a play on words, and the new “something” could be nothing to do with actual social networking at all. The truth is I think RIM should really try just about anything at this point to try and switch the discussion regarding the company’s future. It’s a bleak one, and that’s no good at all.

Do you think RIM could do well by adding a little bit of social networking to their game plan? Or should the company focus on other aspects of their business plan? Let me know in the comments below what you think.

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