Complete Analysis of Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition

Facial recognition technology is getting more spotlight these days. Businesses are shifting from fingerprint scanners to facial recognition software. Reason being the touchless features. After Covid-19, the world is moving to touchless technologies. Touching the same sensor can spread germs or even coronavirus. So, we can say that facial recognition is a life savior when it comes to security. 

Facial Recognition Technology – Touchless and Real-time Verification

Now folks are aware of facial recognition technology because of its massive usage. Facebook is using this innovation in tagging friends. Conventionally, users have to implicitly tag their friends in photos. But deep learning face recognition can automatically search the profiles against those faces. 

In identity verification, facial recognition is used to confirm the ownership of IDs. The photo ID is compared with the selfie. The use cases of facial recognition online is increasing. Mobile phone unlocking, employee attendance, and building entrance systems are verifying humans through this. Allied Market Research forecasted that the facial recognition market will grow to USD 9.6 billion by 2022. 

Facial Recognition Works

It works by finding the similarity between two samples (faces). For example, in the employee attendance system, it checks that the current sample has some similarity with the samples in the database. It checks in the whole database and if a similar sample is found it shows the information associated with it. The system also records the time of entrance. While in identity verification, the selfie is compared with the face on ID. 

The system can find the similarity between live samples, digital prints or hard papers. The skin tone, nose, eye, ears, chin and forehead, position and size is analyzed. The facial biometric features differ among human beings. That’s why it is considered a secure way to identify and verify individuals on-site and online. 

Pros and Cons of Facial Recognition Technology

Here are some pros;

• Protection against identity theft: Fraudsters use spoofs and holograms to verify themselves as some other person. For example, using a stolen ID and uploading a photoshopped image while facial recognition. They also show images to the camera while live photo capture. The advanced facial recognition software can spot all type of faking attempts and verify only authentic users

• Remote Verification: Other than the touching issue, fingerprint scanners also require a person to be   present while verification. Facial recognition doesn’t have this problem. It can remotely verify a person. It gives ease to businesses and customers as it saves their time. Otherwise, a physical visit to a business office for verification is not a good option. 

• Cost Effective: Fingerprint verification is expensive because it requires both hardware and software. The business has to buy a scanner and software as well. Facial recognition is economical, it doesn’t require any extra device. It works efficiently with a normal camera.  

Here are some cons

• Require Solid Security to the Database: The database where the photos are stored should be secured. The biometric data is not that can be changed like passwords or username. Once the data is in the wrong hands, it can’t be changed. A criminal can use it for unethical purposes. 

• Privacy Concerns:  Some users have privacy concerns over facial recognition. They do not want to store their biometrics data in software. They do not feel comfortable with the scanning and recording of facial biometrics. 
• Ineffective Results: The facial recognition software uses the fuzzy match, which means it does not completely check the similarity between two samples. If the face matches a specific limit, the user is marked as verified. It has an advantage, like it can verify a similar-looking human. This problem arises in smartphones, where a twin can unlock a phone. 

Wrapping it Up

As we have discussed the pros and cons of facial recognition, you have a good idea of how to use this technology and to what extent it is effective. There are also some facial recognition services providers that offer seamless services with the above-mentioned disadvantages.