Cell Phone App Raises Privacy Concerns

Although Recognizr, a new cell phone app, is still just a prototype, it’s already earning criticism for potential privacy concerns. Here’s how it works: You point your iPhone at someone, take a photo and click “Recognize.” The facial recognition software analyzes the image and identifies the person based on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. It then links the image with their other information, like phone numbers and e-mail addresses.


Here’s a video of the prototype at work:





These days it seems like anything linked to the words “facial recognition” immediately raises privacy concerns. But apparently Recognizr requires a fairly stationary, head-on image to successfully identify someone, so it’s doubtful that you’re going to get “recognized” without your permission. Also, it’s unclear whether the photographer has to be friends with the subject on Facebook or MySpace for the app to access his or her information.