Meta embeds facial recognition code into its AI app

The codebase includes three distinct AI models capable of detecting, cropping, and encoding faces into biometric data. Security researchers who audited the findings concluded that the underlying technology is largely complete. Although the feature has not reached public users, its integration into the widely distributed Meta AI app signals a significant step beyond theoretical exploration.

Meta maintains that it has made no final commitment to launch the tool and denies the construction of a central facial database. The company previously faced massive regulatory fines for harvesting biometric data without consent, a history that complicates its current stance. This development follows a formal demand from 70 advocacy groups, including the ACLU, urging the tech giant to abandon any plans for integrating facial recognition into its wearable hardware.