I’ve been trying to find information about opting-out and/or removing personal data from facial recognition systems. Info about this is all over the board so I’m not sure what if anything is meaningful. It also seems like opting-in to opting-out with the current U.S. dictatorship in place means actually exposing yourself more.
Does anyone have info about the best way to get data removed? Or if that’s something you even want to do?
I’m also wondering if anyone knows how to test or get info about anit-infrared glasses. My new glasses have this technology in place. I tested FaceID on an iPhone, and they protected against that. But I know security cameras and those Meta glasses work differently.
Yeah.. this is brand new tech being implemented in poorly. No real rules or regulations are properly in place in many places so there doesn’t seem to be any protocol established to get this done. You will surely attract more attention.
Once you’re in public, you’re in public. Can’t expect privacy out there. I would only take steps that are in your control only, trying to do this is likely to not yield any good results (if any).
There’s this quote (Reflectacles being a brand of such (sun)glasses):
Reflectacles do block facial recognition in certain situations, said Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Maass, who owns two pairs of the glasses. He teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno, and uses the glasses as a demonstration in surveillance and cybersecurity lectures.
They block the facial recognition on iPhones, and obstruct infrared security cameras, he said. But they might not stop other types of facial recognition software.
…But that is about 5 years old now. Facial recognition has likely come a long way (and in some cases probably doesn’t rely on IR anymore anyway), so I wouldn’t stake your life on their effectiveness. You can kinda get an idea of this in Louis Rossman’s recent video on the matter: Immich stable vs. Zenni Optical - the facial recognition fight no one asked for
That said, I also own a pair of Reflectacles myself! I think they’re really good sunglasses (it’s a lot easier for me to see what I’m doing with the green lenses) and am content with their effectiveness (or lackthereof) based on that and the fact that it means something to me to try to fight these things regardless.
Reflectacles does also have some demonstrations on their website:
If you can get your hands on an IR camera you could probably try similar tests. That won’t speak much to the facial recognition blocking capabilities, I imagine. But it’s something.
Ultimately, the unsatisfying truth is going to be “it depends on your goals/threat model”. They might be really useful if your concern is lower-tech IR cameras and you do a lot of late-night walks, or if you’re interested in making a statement of resistance (however effective or ineffective it may be). If you’re really interested in making sure you don’t end up in a database, I wouldn’t count on it. They might help alongside other face-obscuring clothing (masks, hats, and such), but that also draws a degree of attention to you in general.
Thanks so much! I only new about some of this. And this pretty much aligns with the value I wanted them to bring to me. I’m only thinking about a general threat level here. There are cameras everywhere which is unfriendly and freaky. So, yeah, I think I’m in a good place with these. Also, like you, I like how they look.