Facebook is trialing a new system that uses selfies to authenticate their users before logging in. The site will prompt the user to submit a photo for verification purposes to ensure only legit users can log in.
Facebook says that the feature is there to help “catch suspicious activity at various points of interaction on the site, including creating an account, sending Friend requests, setting up ad payments, and creating or editing ads.”
Essentially, the feature is not actually being rolled out to the public. Instead, it’s designed as a way for the social media giant to keep tabs on accounts that have been flagged for suspicious activity.
When the system is triggered, the site will prompt the user with a message saying, “Please upload a photo of yourself which clearly shows your face. When you send us a photo, we’ll check it and then permanently delete it from our servers.”
The photo sent will be analysed, and the user can’t log into their account for 72 hours. The photo sent also needs to be a new selfie, that hasn’t been uploaded to the site previously. This sounds very useful as it can help reduce account takeovers or even hacking without the owner’s permission or knowledge.
(Source: The Verge )
