PimEyes is a search system that works with images. Any user can upload any photo and the system will find all the photos of a person that have ever been uploaded to the Internet. The user can search for more than just their face all over the web because there is nothing stopping them from looking for someone else.
The company advertises its effectiveness in face recognition on its web page: “In the results, we show not only photos similar to the ones you uploaded to the search bar, but also photos in which you appear on a different background, with other people, or even with a different haircut.” But when you use the service for free, the background of the original photo is blurred and there is no way to go to the site where the photo is posted.
PimEyes is a free service but offers a paid level for deeper face search. Moreover, with a paid subscription to the service the user will have the opportunity to visit the site from where the photo was found. With the unplanned use of the service, there is no such possibility, and moreover, the background of the original photo is blurred.
“PimEyes is not designed to spy on others and is not intended for that purpose,” the statement said. However, a paid subscription to the service allows the user to follow links to any site from which the photo was found, after which, by collecting information related to the images – such as the background of the photo, people nearby, the text of a blog post or a photo on a person’s work site – the stalker can determine where the person in question works or the signs of the area where they live. However, PimEyes says that its data protection department tracks suspicious activity, such as if a male user repeatedly searches for female faces or a user uploads a photo of a child.
But in fact, such a system is unlikely to be able to protect from persecution although many people today upload photos or videos to their own social networks, and thus share information about their personal lives. However, for those people who really do not publish and are opposed to posting personal information on the Internet, this service can be detrimental.
But there is also a useful function for this service, it allows people to opt out of having their image appear in the results. To do this, user should go to the PimEyes website and fill out the opt-out request form.
Facial recognition technology is an innovation whose commercialization is questionable. PimEyes is aware of the contradictory nature of its business – the company claims it does not store data and that all results are generated on publicly available sites. “PimEyes simply provides a tool, and the user is obligated to use it responsibly,” the company writes on its blog.
What’s more, the company claims there are positive examples of the tool’s use, stating to the BBC that it:
● helps investigative journalists.
● negotiated with law enforcement to help fight crimes against children, human trafficking and terrorism.
● has helped women and girls remove thousands of images related to pornography without their consent.
In sum , this service is quite controversial and requires attention.
Sources:
https://www.the-sun.com/tech/5462751/creepy-ai-face-search-engine-sparks-stalking-fears/
For me it is a bit threatening that you can search for someone’s face in such easy way. However, we have to get used to the fact that it will be more and more popular. That’s why we should be very careful about what we post on the Internet
Based on my opinion, this website is a double edged sword, it can be really helpful in cases where the police do a sloppy job in looking for missing people. hence such website provides hired private investigators a platform that helps them look for the missing person’s whereabouts. however, I do agree that such feature can be abused by certain type of people so for me the best solution would be that the creators of PimEyes should limit who can access the website by creating a request form where users should give a reasonable excuse to search up a specific person.
To be honest, I’m a little bit scared after reading that there is an app which could find all photos of a person that has ever uploaded on the Internet. There are lots of bad people who can negatively use that app. They can track your every step, and you wouldn’t know about that. It’s written that there is an option to opt out of displaying your photos in the results. I think a small percentage of people know about this app, so hardly anyone would use that option. In addition, this app is an easy way for the government to detect who took part in a protest to imprison these people, like recently in Iran. However, that app is also beneficial. As you wrote before. There are women posted on adult websites without their knowledge, and when they report it to the police and are removed later from these sites, they can still appear on the Internet because other people may have managed to share these images on different pages. But with that app, they will know where else they appear. I believe this app shouldn’t be used by civilians, but rather by the police or journalists only to solve criminal cases.
Brilliant blog, and even better topic. In today’s world, you need to be aware that everything that goes on the Internet stays there and can be used against you, which is why I believe that education in this area should be compulsory in today’s schools. Here’s a perfect video that once opened my eyes to this problem, when it wasn’t so popular: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cu_-N7zo0Ea/?igsh=Y281dGl3dmVoY2lp
In my opinion it’s a little scary that this type of app exists, beacause we never know who might use it and for what purpose. I think it would be better if mainly emergency services such as police had acces to it.