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entry · p2026-09-06-076 · validated

Facebook Face Recognition / tag suggestions

More than a third of Facebook's daily active users have opted in to our Face Recognition setting
tech
facebook-face-recognition
passes the definition as
a face-recognition model fit to users' tagged photographs, producing a stored biometric template per person
from
2011
region
world
domain
agency
side
loss
people
1,000,000,000 people (2021-11-02)
effect
— facial recognition templates held (2021-11-02) — an individual biometric template computed and stored for over a billion people; more than a third of daily active users opted in
reversible
yes
who holds the switch
owner:Meta
attribution
named
source kind
primary
the statistic
When Meta shut the system down on 2 November 2021 it held individual facial recognition templates for more than a billion people, with more than a third of Facebook's daily active users opted in.
source
https://about.fb.com/news/2021/11/update-on-use-of-face-recognition/
proposed by
researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-2012-2019
received
2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00
harvest report
impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-2012-2019.md

Rulings, in order

  1. 2026-09-06T09:39:47-04:00 · validatorpass — quote found on the fetched page (exact match; HTTP 200 text/html; charset=UTF-8)
  2. 2026-09-06T09:59:36-04:00 · sessionseverity — a biometric template held and, for nearly all of the billion, never used against them
  3. 2026-09-06T09:59:36-04:00 · sessionremedy — Meta switched the system off and deleted more than a billion templates on 2 November 2021
  4. 2026-09-06T10:24:14-04:00 · sessionremedy — BIPA settlement, final approval 26 Feb 2021: 1,571,608 Illinois claimants paid at least $345 each and templates deleted for class members — a partial remedy nine months before Meta ended the system
The proposal as it arrived (JSON)
{
 "id": "p2026-09-06-076",
 "received": "2026-09-06T09:39:39-04:00",
 "proposer": "researcher (opus), brief 2026-09-06, era-2012-2019",
 "kind": "entry",
 "sha": "e11a3e73d521ecf9",
 "data": {
  "kind": "entry",
  "tech": "facebook-face-recognition",
  "tech_name": "Facebook Face Recognition / tag suggestions",
  "definition": "a face-recognition model fit to users' tagged photographs, producing a stored biometric template per person",
  "from": "2011",
  "region": "world",
  "domain": "agency",
  "side": "loss",
  "people": {
   "n": 1000000000,
   "unit": "people",
   "date": "2021-11-02"
  },
  "effect": {
   "n": null,
   "unit": "facial recognition templates held",
   "date": "2021-11-02",
   "what": "an individual biometric template computed and stored for over a billion people; more than a third of daily active users opted in"
  },
  "reversible": true,
  "switch": "owner:Meta",
  "statistic": "When Meta shut the system down on 2 November 2021 it held individual facial recognition templates for more than a billion people, with more than a third of Facebook's daily active users opted in.",
  "source": "https://about.fb.com/news/2021/11/update-on-use-of-face-recognition/",
  "quote": "More than a third of Facebook's daily active users have opted in to our Face Recognition setting",
  "attribution": "named",
  "source_kind": "primary"
 },
 "from_file": "impacts/harvest/2026-09-06-era-2012-2019.md"
}