YourLifeChoices member Greg wants to know how to disable the new compulsory Facebook feature activating facial recognition across the social network.
Q. Dear YourLifeChoices, I logged into Facebook this morning and was confronted with a warning about facial recognition being activated on my account. I wasn’t asked permission and want to disable this feature. Can you explain how this is done?
A. Hi Greg, Facebook’s implementation of its new facial recognition add-on caught everyone by surprise and, unfortunately, they didn’t greet users with an opportunity to opt out when signing in.
If not disabled, the feature allows Facebook to recognise whether you’re in a photo or video based on the data on your profile.
Instructions for desktop/laptop computer
- Log into Facebook.
- Click the down arrow in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
- From the dropdown menu, click ‘Settings’.
- In the menu on the left, click ‘Face recognition’.
- Click ‘Edit’ and switch your setting to ‘No’, then click ‘Close’ on the right.
Instructions for smartphone or tablet
- Click on the button in the bottom right of your app with three parallel lines.
- Scroll down to the bottom on this page and click on ‘Privacy Shortcuts’.
- Now scroll down and click ‘More Settings’.
- Click on ‘Facial recognition’.
- Click on ‘Do you want Facebook to be able to recognise you in photos and videos?’
Switch the setting to ‘No’.
Are you worried about how far Facebook has over-reached with this new feature? Have you already turned it off?
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