As if we’re not obsessed enough with selfies, I just discovered a new software called SelfiePay. The basic idea is that consumers can verify their identify for purchases by posing for a selfie at checkout to eliminate the need for passwords and verification codes. The consumer may also be asked to wink, blink, or do a head tilt to ensure it’s a real person requesting the transaction.
On the backend, the merchant is equipped with facial recognition software to validate the image. MasterCard and Amazon already have plans to incorporate selfie pay options at checkout. For MasterCard it’s seen as a way to reduce the amount of legitimate purchases rejected because of suspected fraud.
Like every other new technological do-dad and “convenience” I can’t help but wonder about all that nitpicky stuff like privacy, security, and protection of personal information. I haven’t researched it, but I’ve always suspected that Facebook has been secretly perfecting facial recognition algorithms based on all the free data users unwittingly provide by tagging people in pictures.
I feel uneasy about the advances made in facial recognition software because I don’t know, nor can I predict, where all these advances will lead. A part of me feels like this is the ultimate breach of privacy and I want to preserve my biometric data as belonging to me. Previously the scenarios using biometric data were fairly limited to fingerprinting (i.e. being arrested, police checks), hand and/or eyeball scanning for immigration or security checkpoints. With facial recognition software I won’t have any control over when, where, or how I’m being tracked. I’m not sure I like the idea of my biometrics (e.g. face and fingerprints) becoming the password. I just can’t imagine the security and encryption on the data stored by the merchants could ever be adequate enough.
And what if you’re generic looking, like me? It could lead to mistaken identity. I’m constantly approached by complete strangers who insist that I’m related to somebody they know, or that I’m an adult version of an old schoolmate. This is rarely the case. Just to illustrate the point, I was recently contacted by an ex-boyfriend who was so positive he saw me in Osaka that he felt inspired to send me an email, even though we haven’t kept in touch over the last 10 years. Needless to say, it was not me.