Don’t be surprised if Facebook asks you to “upload a photo of yourself that clearly shows your face” any time soon.
The social media network is cracking down on bots and wants users to prove with a photo that they’re real people.
According to Wired, Facebook is now using a new kind of captcha to verify whether or not a user is an actual person. This involves uploading a photo that “clearly shows your face” if the network asks for it. Facebook can then check it, to ensure a user isn’t a bot.
Facebook claims it will delete the image after from their files, but some Twitter users aren’t happy to hear about this new feature. This new verification method was discovered by @flexlibris on Tuesday evening.
The Twitter user posted the following screenshot on her account, that had been sent to her by a friend trying to log into her Facebook.
a friend sent me this: Facebook is now locking users out of account features, then demanding that those users "verify" their account to get back in by scanning an image of their face. AN IMAGE OF THEIR FACE. pic.twitter.com/T4TIsJFxX8
— can Amy Goodman pls stop inviting Assange on thx (@flexlibris) November 28, 2017
And digital rights attorney Matt Cagel (@matt_cagel) retweeted it, pointing out that it’s a bit unsettling that Facebook hasn’t made it more apparent to its users…
Why did Facebook users have to learn about this new verification feature from posts on Twitter and Reddit? cc @flexlibris https://t.co/VB08ZbPtkl
— Matt Cagle (@Matt_Cagle) November 29, 2017
A Facebook spokesperson said to Wired, “the process is automated, including identifying suspicious activity and checking the photo. To determine if the account is authentic, Facebook looks at whether the photo is unique . . . the photo test is one of several methods, both automated and manual, used to detect suspicious activity.”
It makes sense on Facebook’s end, but it sounds a bit odd to us.
How do you feel about this new security feature? Would you be comfortable sending in a picture of yourself, in order to prove you aren’t a bot?
Let us know in the comments below.