Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Accused Of Hiding Face-ID Tech In AI App Downloaded By Millions

Mark Zuckerberg's Meta and the controversies around user privacy are nothing new. The tech giant is facing numerous allegations, and investigations in different parts of the world over how it handles user data. Now, in the latest development, a new report has claimed that the US-based social media company quietly removed face-recognition related code from its Meta AI app after it was exposed.According to an exclusive WIRED report, Meta recently released an update for its Meta AI app that removed code linked to a face-recognition feature called 'NameTag'. The app works with Meta's AI smart glasses and has reportedly been downloaded on more than 50 million phones.WIRED claims that the previous version of the app included code related to face recognition.

According to the report, Meta has now removed those components, including software that could identify people, create biometric profiles, and process faces captured by the app.Meta Confirms More Than 20000 Instagram Accounts Were Hijacked By HackersThe report also claims that the NameTag system can scan faces captured by Meta's smart glasses and turn them into unique biometric profiles,or faceprints. These faceprints could then be matched with a database stored on the user's device to identify people.Meta has maintained that the feature was never publicly launched. Speaking to WIRED, Meta Vice President of Communications Andy Stone said the technology was still under exploration. He told the publication, 'No final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything.'The report also shows a sharp response from Meta executives after the findings were published. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has described the reporting as 'incredibly misleading' and 'absolutely dishonest.'World Decides: After Australia And EU, UK To Take On Big Tech Over Child Online Safety

But, one of the biggest concerns raised in the report relates to privacy. WIRED says Meta did not answer several questions before publication, including how long biometric data would be stored, whether such information could be sent to Meta's servers and whether users would have the option to opt in or opt out of the system.The latest version of the Meta AI app reportedly removes nearly all traces of the feature. Times Now Tech has reached out to Meta for an official statement on the matter. We are awaiting the company's response.