Stop Facebook from looking for you with face recognition

April 1, 2018

By Kim Komando

The idea that any of us can truly trust Facebook right now is pretty far out there. It seems like there is a new story every day about how they have betrayed our confidence, and it’s likely we have yet to even get past the tip of that iceberg.All the latest news has almost made us forget about Facebook’s plan for facial recognition, which especially now seems like a terrible thing to invite into our lives. The last thing we need from Facebook is a greater invasion of our privacy.So, if you’re like us and feel uneasy about Facebook recognizing your face, keep reading because we’re going to show you how to disable that feature. It’s not a difficult thing to do, but once done, you’ll likely feel much better.

You are just a few steps away

Before you dive in and turn the function off, it’s important to point out that Facebook has not exactly hidden its reasoning for having the feature in the first place. They say the idea is that it will help recognize photos of you that you have not been tagged in, help protect against strangers pretending to be you online, and help people who might have visual impairments know who is in each photo or video.If that information has given you second thoughts about turning it off, that’s fine. We understand. But if it has done nothing to dissuade you from making sure Facebook doesn’t know you by your face, read on.Like all Facebook settings you want to change, you will need to open up the Menu to find the Settings page. You do this by clicking on the upside down triangle at the top of the screen on a desktop or on the three horizontal bars in the corner of the main screen on a mobile device. Once you click on that, you will see either a drop-down list (desktop) or a new page (mobile) with options, one of which is “Settings.”On the desktop, clicking that will take you to another screen, while on a mobile it will pull up options that include “Account Settings,” which is where you want to tap.Either click or tap on that option and on the next screen you will have a list of more things to choose from. On a desktop, it is on the left-hand side, whereas on a mobile device it is down the middle. Either way, look down the list until you see “Face Recognition.”Selecting that will then bring you to another page, one that explains what Face Recognition is while giving you the option to turn it off.The decision to disable it does not have to be permanent, as you can go through the same process at a later date and turn it back on. But for now, this should at least put you a little more at ease given what is going on with the site.

Speaking of Facebook, they’re in a bit of a mess these days

Every Facebook user is now evaluating whether or not it’s worth it to stay connected. To make the right decision for you means you need to know what’s happening and what your options are. That’s why I’m here, to help you sift through all of the nonsense, and give you the facts. Click here for all the details.