Apple opens some iPhone X facial recognition data to developers

By Steven Winkelman November 2, 2017

Apple iPhone X Review — Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

One of the most exciting features surrounding Apple’s new iPhone X is the replacement of Touch ID and the home button with Face ID. Apple touted Face ID as a safer way to unlock your phone, as it has a false positive ratio of 1,000,000:1 (compared to Touch ID at 50,000:1). But the company’s latest decision to share facial recognition data with app developers has privacy experts concerned.

Face ID lets you unlock your phone with just your face. The iPhone X uses depth-sensing technology and 3D mapping to accurately identify your face, and it can be used not just to unlock your phone but to authenticate payments or enter banking apps. Reuters reports Apple will allow third-party app developers access to some of this facial recognition data. With permission from the user, developers can capture a rough image of a user’s face and more than 50 different facial expressions. Developers can then transfer this information to their own servers.

Recommended Videos

Apple’s decision to open this data up to app developers is likely intended to create a better user experience. Developers like Snapchat or Facebook could use this face-mapping data to create more accurate filters, while game developers could create interactive avatars. Although developers can capture a rudimentary face map and some gestures, the data they receive will not be able to unlock phones or identify anonymous users.

While the Apple agreement allows app developers an opportunity to collect facial recognition data, it explicitly bans developers from using this information for advertising and marketing purposes. Developers are also prohibited from using the data to create a user profile of anonymous users and cannot sell any of the data to third parties.

In addition to Apple’s agreement with app developers, the company still requires an extensive review before any app makes it to the App Store. Apple also has the right to pull any apps from the App Store, although it’s unclear if the company has ever removed an app for sharing information to third parties without permission.

Even with all of these safeguards in place, privacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy and Technology remain concerned that developers could inappropriately use facial recognition and expression tracking to cater content and advertisements to users.

Though Apple appears to be going out of its way to ensure facial recognition is used properly, you should carefully read, and consider the source, before allowing developers access to their camera. We reached out to Apple for comment.

Topics

Steven Winkelman

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Steven writes about technology, social practice, and books. At Digital Trends, he focuses primarily on mobile and wearables…

Mobile

I took four of the best phones to NYC for a wild camera test. Here are the results

close up photo of cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12 and Pixel 9 Pro

If you’re in the U.S. and looking for a smartphone camera that won’t let you down, there’s a strong chance that you’ll land on a phone from one of four phone makers: Samsung, Google, OnePlus, or Apple.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is widely regarded as having the best smartphone telephoto lens in the U.S., thanks to its 10x zoom. Google continues to work wonders with the triple camera array in its Pixel 9 Pro, while the OnePlus 12 offers outstanding performance at a more affordable price. Then there’s the iPhone 16 Pro, with its 5x telephoto camera, which was exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.

Mobile

I hate the new Photos app in iOS 18

Photos app on iOS 18.

When Apple launched the iPhone 16 line, it also released iOS 18 to the masses after months of betas. Though the biggest feature of iOS 18 is Apple Intelligence, which didn’t actually launch until the iOS 18.1 release, there are plenty of other things that iOS 18 brings to the table. That includes RCS messaging, more home screen customization, a revamped Control Center, and more.

One app that got a significant redesign in iOS 18 is the Photos app. After around a decade of mostly the same design and what I would call muscle memory, the new Photos app is, well, quite jarring — and I'm not a fan.
The new Photos app is messy
The old Photos app Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Mobile

A hidden iOS 18.1 upgrade made it harder to extract data from iPhones

A person holding the Apple iPhone 16 Plus.

Apple Intelligence was the most notable upgrade that arrived on iPhones with the iOS 18 series of updates. But it seems Apple reinforced the security protocols in the background that could prevent bad actors from gaining unauthorized access to iPhones that haven’t been unlocked in a while by their legitimate owner.

Earlier this month, 404Media reported that law enforcement officials are troubled by iPhones that are mysteriously rebooting. Citing a report courtesy of officials in Michigan, the outlet notes that the reboots are hampering the ability to access what’s stored on the phones through brute-force unlock methods.