You want to choose something that is easy to remember with a minimum of 8 characters that uses as many of the above techniques as possible. One way to do this is to choose a phrase that you remember, choose all the first or last letters of each word, and then replace some letters with numbers and symbols. Then you can capitalize some letters (maybe the first and last, or the penultimate, etc.) You could also keep or add punctuation marks.

But that's where it gets tricky. If privacy is important to you, you probably want some control over how your personal information, your data, is used. And here's the thing: your "facial print" is the data.

How facial recognition works

Facial recognition is the process of identifying or verifying the identity of a person using their face. It captures, analyzes, and compares patterns based on the person's facial details.

  1. The face detection process is an essential step as it detects and locates human faces in images and videos.
  2.  The face capture process transforms analogue information (a face) into a set of digital information (data) based on the person's facial features.
  3. The face match process verifies if two faces belong to the same person.

Today it's considered to be the most natural of all biometric measurements. 

And for a good reason – we recognize ourselves not by looking at our fingerprints or irises, for example, but by looking at our faces. 

Face recognition data to identify and verify

Biometrics are used to identify and authenticate a person using a set of recognizable and verifiable data unique and specific to that person.

Identification answers the question: "Who are you?"

Authentication answers the question: "Are you really who you say you are?"

Here are some examples : 

  • In the case of facial biometrics, a 2D or 3D sensor "captures" a face. It then transforms it into digital data by applying an algorithm before comparing the image captured to those held in a database.
     
  • These automated systems can be used to identify or check the identity of individuals in just a few seconds based on their facial features: spacing of the eyes, bridge of the nose, the contour of the lips, ears, chin, etc.
    They can even do this in the middle of a crowd and within dynamic and unstable environments. Proof of this can be seen in the performance achieved by Thales' Live Face Identification System (LFIS), an advanced solution resulting from our long-standing expertise in biometrics.  
  • Of course, other signatures via the human body also exist, such as fingerprints, iris scans, voice recognition, digitization of veins in the palm, and behavioural measurements. 

Reasons to be concerned about your privacy

Privacy matters. Privacy refers to any rights you have to control your personal information and how it’s used — and that can include your faceprint.

So, what are the issues? Here are some:

  • Security. Your facial data can be collected and stored, often without your permission. It’s possible hackers could access and steal that data.
  • Prevalence. Facial recognition technology is becoming more widespread. That means your facial signature could end up in a lot of places. You probably won’t know who has access to it.
  • Ownership. You own your face — the one atop your neck — but your digital images are different. You may have given up your right to ownership when you signed up on a social media network. Or maybe someone tracks down images of you online and sells that data.
  • Safety. Facial recognition could lead to online harassment and stalking. How? For example, someone takes your picture on a subway or some other public place and uses facial recognition software to find out exactly who you are.
  • Mistaken identity. Say, for instance, law enforcement uses facial recognition to try to identify someone who robbed a corner store. Facial recognition systems may not be 100 percent accurate. What if the police think the suspect is you?
  • Basic freedoms. Government agencies and others could have the ability to track you. What you do and where you go might no longer be private. It could become impossible to remain anonymous.
An article by Munna Suprathik