A popular Google app that shows you your'art doppelganger' has sparked concerns that the firm is secretly collecting data on people's faces. The feature on Google's Arts & Culture app reads facial features from uploaded selfies and matches them with faces in famous works of art. The software has unleashed a frenzy of activity online as users post images of their painting lookalikes, but some have dubbed it a'facial recognition database'. A popular Google app that lets you find your'art doppelganger' by uploading a selfie (pictured) has sparked concerns that Google is secretly collecting data on people's faces Selfie fans have become obsessed with the new Google Arts & Culture app feature, which was introduced as part of a recent update. The software reads facial features from uploaded selfies and matches them with faces in famous works of art. Some have expressed concerns that Google is using the feature to store images of people for its photo recognition database.

The federal government is considering allowing private companies to use its national facial recognition database for a fee, documents released under Freedom of Information laws reveal. The partially redacted documents show that the Attorney General's Department is in discussions with major telecommunications companies about pilot programs for private sector use of the Facial Verification Service in 2018. The documents also indicate strong interest from financial institutions in using the database. The government has argued that the use of facial recognition is necessary for national security and to cut down on crimes such as identity fraud. The Attorney General's Department says private companies could only use the service with the person's consent.

The "rapid" growth of a police facial recognition database could lead to innocent people being unfairly targeted, a watchdog has warned. Biometrics Commissioner Paul Wiles said the Police National Database (PND) now had at least 19 million custody photographs on it. However, it is thought that hundreds of thousands of these could be of innocent people. The Home Office said police should delete images of unconvicted people. In a government review published in February, the Home Office concluded that those who are not convicted should have the right to request that their custody image is deleted from all police databases.

Approximately half of adult Americans' photographs are stored in facial recognition databases that can be accessed by the FBI, without their knowledge or consent, in the hunt for suspected criminals. About 80% of photos in the FBI's network are non-criminal entries, including pictures from driver's licenses and passports. The algorithms used to identify matches are inaccurate about 15% of the time, and are more likely to misidentify black people than white people. These are just some of the damning facts presented at last week's House oversight committee hearing, where politicians and privacy campaigners criticized the FBI and called for stricter regulation of facial recognition technology at a time when it's creeping into law enforcement and business. "Facial recognition technology is a powerful tool law enforcement can use to protect people, their property, our borders, and our nation," said committee chair Jason Chaffetz, adding that in the private sector it can be used to protect financial transactions and prevent fraud or identity theft.

The FBI's facial recognition database has more than 400 million pictures to help its criminal investigations, but lacks adequate safeguards for accuracy and privacy protection, a congressional audit has revealed. Totalling 411.9 million images, privacy campaigners have slammed the'unprecedented number of photographs, most of which are of Americans and foreigners who have committed no crimes.' The huge database - which enables investigators to automatically search images for criminal suspects - 'is far greater than had previously been understood' and raises concerns'about the risk of innocent Americans being inadvertently swept up in criminal investigations,' said Senator Al Franken, who requested the study. The FBI's facial recognition database includes some 30 million criminal mugshots and 140 million images from visa applications by foreign nationals The FBI's database includes some 30 million criminal mugshots and 140 million images from visa applications by foreign nationals, the GAO found. It also contains drivers' license pictures from 16 US states and 6.7 million photos from the Defense Department's biometric identification system of individuals detained by US forces abroad, among others.