To be clear: I don’t know if this actually works. 

Makes sense though, eh?  I do know though, that this is why you are instructed not to smile in your drivers licence or passport photo – you don’t walk around smiling.

To be serious: you realize that everything you post online is likely added to a face database.  Facebook is the perfect example.

This summer, US Senator Al Franken said, “Facebook may have created the world’s largest privately held database of face prints, without the explicit knowledge of its users”.  

And people are getting upset.  Germany is suing Facebook over their use of facial recognition software, saying it’s illegal.  They’re also ordering the site to stop sharing their faces database with third-party applications.

Apple and Google do it too, but their services are opt-IN, Facebook’s default is opt-OUT.

Has it ever occurred to you to opt-out?  Maybe.  What about a housewife in Iowa?  Not a chance.  And with over 60 billion photos on Facebook’s servers…

Learn more:

– CNET – about Facebook’s database

– Businessweek – thoughts from the Senetor mentioned above

– Slate – the FBI gave its facial recognition software, to law enforcement agencies

– Gizmodo – Kinect can read your facial expressions

– VentureBeat – digital billboards are coming – they read your face, determine your mood, then make their pitch

– Gizmodo – Intel is working on your TV reading your mood for ads

And I’ve got some scary apps bookmarked here, I’ll show you in video; it’s more effective demonstrated in video.