Face recognition is essential for identity authentication, but the rich visual clues in facial images pose significant privacy risks, highlighting the critical importance of privacy-preserving solutions. For instance, numerous studies have shown that generative models are capable of effectively performing reconstruction attacks that result in the restoration of original visual clues. To mitigate this threat, we introduce FracFace, a fractal-based privacy-preserving face recognition framework. This approach effectively weakens the visual clues that can be exploited by reconstruction attacks by disrupting the spatial structure in frequency domain features, while retaining the vital visual clues required for identity recognition. To achieve this, we craft a Frequency Channels Refining module that reduces sparsity in the frequency domain. It suppresses visual clues that could be exploited by reconstruction attacks, while preserving features indispensable for recognition, thus making these attacks more challenging. More significantly, we design a Frequency Fractal Mapping module that obfuscates deep representations by remapping refined frequency channels into a fractal-based privacy structure. By leveraging the self-similarity of fractals, this module preserves identity relevant features while enhancing defense capabilities, thereby improving the overall robustness of the protection scheme. Experiments conducted on multiple public face recognition benchmarks demonstrate that the proposed FracFace significantly reduces the visual recoverability of facial features, while maintaining high recognition accuracy, as well as the superiorities over state-of-the-art privacy protection approaches.

The'disappearing into the bushes like Homer Simpson' strategy is a bold choice. Only a day after a dormant bit of code that seemed to be a facial recognition algorithm was discovered in a companion app for its smart glasses, Meta released an update which removed that code, Wired reported. The publication had first uncovered the suspicious code, internally dubbed Name Tag within Meta, while reviewing code for a Meta AI app which handles some core features of the glasses. In other words, the same app necessary for pairing Meta smart glasses to a user's phone over Bluetooth was also ready to start harvesting every face a user passed by while wearing them. It contained algorithms which would have converted photos of faces into biometric identifiers stored on-device and cross referenced with each new facial scan.

On London's streets, facial recognition tests the balance between security and liberty Temporary street signs warn pedestrians of a Metropolitan Police live facial recognition operation in London on May 11. | REUTERS London - Tourists, shoppers and office workers on a busy London street on an ordinary weekday found themselves part of a digital identity check as live facial recognition cameras scanned faces against a police watchlist. The operation was an example of a technology the Metropolitan Police say is transforming policing, helping officers arrest around 2,500 wanted people since the start of 2024, including suspects accused of violent and sexual offences. Critics, however, say live facial recognition undermines the presumption of innocence underpinning British law by treating every passerby as a potential suspect. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

The complaint says park visitors don't get sufficient notice they're being scanned. Disney is being sued over use of facial recognition technology at its amusement parks. The class action lawsuit alleges that the entertainment brand does not adequately inform guests that it scans people's faces at the entrances to Disneyland and California Adventure. The complaint is seeking at least $5 million on behalf of park visitors. Guests should be able to expressly opt in to this type of sensitive facial recognition technology with written consent -- the onus of privacy rights should not be on the victim, writes Blake Yagman, a lawyer for the proposed class of visitors, in the complaint.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG . Apple's $250M Siri settlement: Are you owed cash? Is ID.me safe to use? Why last year's breach is this year's identity fraud Humanoid robot named'Gabi' ordained as Buddhist monk, pledges devotion to'holy Buddha' Disney wants to scan your face at the gate: Here's why SIM swap scam drained Florida woman's bank account in minutes Trump says US'in very good shape' on hantavirus Outcomes of Operation Epic Fury have'already made the US safer,' State Department spokesperson says Tech Experts Say it's Time to Ditch Your Passwords WATCH: Couple's first dance goes UP IN FLAMES Angela Lipps' attorney explains how a facial recognition error wrongfully linked the Tennessee grandmother to a North Dakota bank fraud case, causing her to spend over five months in custody.

Is Big Brother watching you shop? - podcast From supermarkets to corner shops, live facial recognition could be coming to retailers near you. Live facial recognition is being hailed as a powerful new frontier in the fight against crime, not only by police but by private companies too. Retailers from supermarkets to corner shops hope it will help them fight back against shoplifting. And the technology doesn't always get it right. With more police forces wanting to take up the technology, what could the consequences be?

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I'll never buy another laptop without Windows Hello It's so important, I even go out of my way to add it to my desktop PCs! I review a lot of laptops here at PCWorld, and I'm always surprised when I unbox one without biometric hardware. Fingerprint readers and infrared (IR) cameras for facial recognition are both great--and some laptops even have both! But then you have those that skip the biometric hardware entirely, which is a huge loss these days.

Disneyland uses facial recognition at certain entry gates to speed up arrival and prevent fraud. Participation is optional, and data is deleted within 30 days.

Metalenz's Polar ID face-scanning technology works even when the camera is hidden under the display. The notch has largely been replaced on today's smartphones by floating punch-hole cameras that take up less space and look a little more futuristic, though notches are still prevalent on some laptops, like Apple's MacBooks . On the iPhone, Apple calls its floating pill-shaped camera system the Dynamic Island, which debuted on the iPhone 14 . The iPhone still has the largest camera cutout today, due to its Face ID biometric authentication system. This island could get much smaller, however, thanks to new under-display camera technology announced at Display Week 2026 from Metalenz, a optics startup from Boston.

How does live facial recognition work and how many police forces use it? Britain's biometrics watchdogs have warned that national oversight of AI-powered face scanning to catch criminals is lagging far behind the technology's rapid growth. With the Metropolitan police almost doubling the number of faces they scan in London over the past 12 months and a rising use of the technology by retailers in the UK, Prof William Webster, the biometrics commissioner for England and Wales, said the "slow pace of legislation was trying to catch up with the real world" and "the horse had gone before the cart". Dr Brian Plastow, who holds the same role in Scotland, warned the technology was "nowhere near as effective as the police claim it is" and said there was a "patchwork legal framework" throughout the UK. He said in England and Wales, police were "really just marking their own homework".