Meta is testing new facial recognition tools on Facebook and Instagram to help users quickly restore compromised accounts and combat fake celebrity-endorsed scams.
According to The Verge* these tools will verify a user’s identity by comparing their face to profile pictures on the platforms. The primary goal is to protect both celebrities and everyday users from “celeb-bait” ads, which impersonate notable figures to lure users into scams.
Meta’s current automated technology, like machine learning, struggles to distinguish these scams from legitimate ads. Meta previously integrated facial recognition tech into Facebook to identify and tag users in photographs and videos. That feature was discontinued in 2021 after a lengthy privacy battle.
Account compromise is a huge problem for Meta and it is frustrating for victims who often struggle to recover their accounts. With minimal input on offer by real people, Meta are clearly looking at further technological ways to improve account recovery. Facial recognition has been proven to not always remain foolproof and this feature may not work on profiles that don’t feature selfies so it is vital that people still do all they can to prevent account compromise from happening.
To keep account safe, users should always use two factor authentication on their account and make sure they keep a safe copy of their generated backup key. It’s also a good idea to refrain from reusing passwords too.
by Jake Moore, ESET
*ESET does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
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