Facebook acquires facial image analysis startup FacioMetrics

Facebook has acquired a facial image analysis firm FacioMetrics as it tries to give users new features to add special effects to photos and videos. The technology developed by the startup also includes capabilities for face tracking and recognizing emotions, which could potentially open up other applications for Facebook. The financial terms of the acquisition of FacioMetrics, a startup that was spun off from Carnegie Mellon University, were not disclosed. Facebook will discontinue the products, which are no longer available on app stores.The FacioMetrics website now only has a message about the acquisition. "How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways," a Facebook spokesman wrote in an email Wednesday.