Photo recognition raises Facebook privacy fears

FACEBOOK has quietly upgraded its technology to automatically recognise people in photos, renewing concerns about the privacy practices of the world’s top social networking service.

The feature, which Facebook automatically enables for users, has been expanded from the United States to “most countries”, Facebook’s official blog said.

Its “Tag Suggestions” feature uses facial recognition technology to speed up the process of labelling friends and acquaintances that appear in photos posted to Facebook.