Large gatherings such as weddings and conferences can be socially overwhelming. Pressure to learn people’s names only adds to the stress. A new facial-recognition app could come to the rescue, but privacy experts recommend proceeding with caution.
The app, called SocialRecall, connects names with faces via smartphone cameras and facial recognition, potentially avoiding the need for formal introductions. “It breaks down these social barriers we have when meeting somebody,” says Barry Sandrew, who created the app.
After receiving an invitation to download SocialRecall from an event organizer, the user is asked to take two selfies and sign in via social media. At the event, the app is active within a previously defined geographical area. When a user points his or her phone camera at an attendee’s face, the app identifies the individual, displays the person’s name, and links to his or her social media profile. To protect privacy, it recognizes only those who have agreed to participate and automatically deletes users’ data after an event.
Ann Cavoukian, a privacy expert who runs the Privacy by Design Center of Excellence praises the app’s creators for these protective measures. She cautions, however, that when people choose to share their personal information with the app, they should know that “there may be unintended consequences down the road with that information being used in another context that might come back to bite you.”
The start-up has also developed a version of the app for individuals who suffer from prosopagnosia, or “face blindness,” a condition that prevents people from recognizing individuals they have met. To use this app, a person first acquires an image of someone’s face, from either the smartphone’s camera or a photograph, and then tags it with a name. When the camera spots that same face in real life, the previously entered information is displayed. The collected data are stored only on a user’s phone, according to the team behind the app.
【小题1】Why was SocialRecall developed?| A．To identify people. | B．To meet friends. | C．To organize events. | D．To take photos. |
| A．How the app was created. | B．What makes the app popular. |
| C．How the app functions. | D．What people can do with the app. |
| A．By giving names to the photos kept in their smartphones. |
| B．By collecting information previously entered in the phone. |
| C．By providing the information of a person when they first meet. |
| D．By showing the person’s information when it spots a stored face. |
| A．It may put people’s privacy at risk. | B．It has caused unintended consequences. |
| C．It can prevent some communication disorders. | D．It’s praised by users for its protective measures. |
