Automated face recognition is an encrypted mathematical process for matching an image of a member (i.e., their face) with other images containing that same member. The Face Recognition feature is not available in personal galleries.
Automated Face Recognition Technology (AFRT) is available for use internally by a school in its Enterprise Media Gallery hosted on pixevety, a private privacy-by-design ISO27001 media management platform, to automatically identify school members and apply and enforce their photo consent. If a school chooses to turn on AFRT in its Media Gallery, a photo will undertake a secure 2-step automation process of: 1) face detection (where AFRT is not used) and 2) face recognition (where AFRT is used). Face detection is an automated process that seeks to detect when a human face (object) is displayed, but it does not seek to identify or match an individual to that face nor provide other personal information about an individual. Face detection without any other form of face recognition technology functionality does not collect biometric information.
Information derived from one or more features of a person’s face is biometric data. If AFRT is turned on in a pixevety Enterprise Media Gallery, as part of an onboarding process, biometric data will automatically be collected to compile a biometric template of a member (i.e., student, staff). In pixevety, locked-down-to-a-single-gallery-AFRT is used in order to match a face of a member to all other faces of them in images in that particular Media Gallery for the sole purpose of applying member photo consent. A member is matched and identified when an image featuring their face is automatically “tagged” with their name.
pixevety does not run AFRT between Media Galleries, therefore a face identified in one Gallery will never automatically be recognised in another Gallery. As part of its contracted service to a school, pixevety applies AFRT to a single face photo of a student uploaded by the school (such as a student ID photo) to identify the student and where they have been captured in other images in the school Media Gallery. This is done solely for the purpose of: 1) applying the student/parent privacy wishes for how the school can use and publish their images; and 2) allowing the school to search and find the student in images. Please note that the only body that the school will share this information with is pixevety, as its contracted service provider, for the primary purpose of applying photo consent. This technology is necessary for the automatic and immediate application and enforcement of photo consent at scale across thousands of school photos stored in a school Media Gallery each year. All school student data and biometric information is owned by the school and stored locally with many layers of security separating the data. Each pixevety face recognition library is developed solely for each school and only made available to that school. pixevety uses an encrypted algorithm for AFRT that is not kept with a face or photo, but in an encrypted separate database at rest and in transit. Names are also stored in a separate database, encrypted at rest and in-transit, separate to any other personal data.
By enabling AFRT in a Media Gallery, the school can apply specific photo restriction flags to each image based on who has been identified/named and their photo consent (e.g., photos tagged with Johnny Smith will be marked as “No Social Media Use”). We use a safe, ethical, privacy-enhancing application for AFRT and it is important to note that AFRT is an essential function of the school’s use of the Consent Management Module, as it is necessary to identify a member in a photo to apply their specific photo consent and for this to be done in real-time at scale.
The privacy of images, and the individuals tagged in those images is of paramount importance to pixevety. As a Biometrics Institute Member and an award-wining Privacy-by-Design service, pixevety uses AFRT ethically, underpinned by privacy-by-design & default engineering and principles. We do not maintain a databank of faces, we do not sell, share or use any personal data for commercial purposes or with third parties, we do not profile. All member matching occurs within the school’s Media Gallery and all biometric templates are securely stored separate to faces/images. We will only depart from this position if we are required by law to do so. Please feel free to contact us at any time at privacy@pixevety.com with further questions.