Google Nest wants your friend's face: should you give in?

We're all familiar with facial recognition technology. iPhone users have been creating facial profiles for Apple for years, and now a biometric face scan can help us accomplish everything from unlocking our phones to paying for groceries. While companies are quick to assure us that face-scan data is encrypted and never passed on to third parties, privacy concerns remain. And there's no better example of this than the “facial recognition” home security tech I covered in my recent feature on Home AI.

Security companies like Google Nest and SimpliSafe are using face-scanning technology that lets users create a facial contact list of friends and family using photos they already have. That data is then used by video doorbells and home cameras. But instead of making facial recognition decisions for yourself, you're making facial recognition decisions for others, likely without their consent. This is a troubling new problem, and one worth taking a closer look at for anyone investing in home security equipment.

The basics of “face recognition” technology

Doorbells like Ring can let you know if a human is approaching, but algorithms can do much more than that.

ring

Nest was first, but now other security companies are starting to offer their own facial recognition options. The process is similar across brands: Once you subscribe to a service like Nest Aware ($8 per month) or SimpliSafe's beta program for professional, AI-powered home monitoring, facial recognition is enabled on your compatible home camera or video doorbell. In Nest's case, it also works with compatible systems like ADT.

You then have the option to use your facial photos to create something like a library of recognized and named faces. The camera's algorithms do their best to analyze approaching faces and report back if they recognize anyone. Nest is quick to remind users to check local privacy laws (more on that later) and get the person's permission first, but you don't have to take that step. SimpliSafe suggests using this for casual encounters like dog walkers, so security monitoring agents can zero in when they see a stranger.

“Over time, facial recognition will become more accurate at identifying recognized faces and sending more helpful alerts,” said Julie Chu, product manager at Google Nest. “We also see a future where Nest users will be able to build automations relevant to specific people, like personalized doorbell chimes.”

Alerts for recognized faces provide some ease of use, but the benefits to the work involved are minimal.

Google/Amazon

Doorbell chimes might be a hard sell to homeowners looking to record the faces of friends. On the security side, Zhu noted that Nest's software can also notify users if an unfamiliar face shows up at the door. This could be a feature for people who have trouble with strangers. On the other hand, it's easy to imagine scenarios where you really want to know if it's your nosy Aunt Carol or a nasty ex-lover making a surprise visit.

Overall, I'm not convinced these features are worth registering everyone's face for. Smart home integration, like automatically unlocking the door with a specific face, is more appealing, but this kind of compatibility takes time to develop and privacy concerns remain.

Privacy, facial data, and the big questions

Creating face profiles for your family members is understandable, but creating face profiles for your colleagues and acquaintances starts to feel strange.

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When we think about facial recognition technology, two big questions come to mind: can it be stolen and can it be used by law enforcement to track us? Security vulnerabilities and data leaks are unfortunately not going away. That’s why it’s so important that face data is stored on-device and encrypted. Companies like Google store face data in the cloud, but it’s encrypted first so that no one from Google can access it directly. Even if they don’t have direct access, there may still be an option for companies to use face data to train AI.

The second issue is even more troubling: Facial recognition and law enforcement are an uneasy mix, and one that's rife with heated opinions. Both federal and local law enforcement agencies use facial recognition, yet there is surprisingly little regulation in place.

So could the police ask for your face library as a way to track suspects or people under investigation? Police can request home security data in the event of a life-or-death emergency (or warrant), but there are no reports of them ever asking for a facial profile. For starters, there's really no way for law enforcement to collect and process these facial profiles, and even if there were, companies wouldn't typically store that data unencrypted in the cloud, so it's not a big concern right now.

The Arlo doorbell line has a lot of detection features, but it doesn't have a facial profiling feature.

ring

More worryingly, there are trust issues that come with curating a portfolio of family and friends' faces and letting the camera's algorithms use them automatically. Nest's facial recognition tools restrict use or modification by children under 13, but adults can use them however they like, as long as they have a photo. And as more faces are used, the detector learns and becomes more accurate over time.

Apple Intelligence already combs through the photos on our phones to generate images, so we're becoming increasingly accustomed to AI looking at our photos. But when it comes to video doorbells and cameras, it may still feel like an invasion of privacy to some. And that's what's causing some governments to take action.

Laws are catching up on facial recognition, but they're unpredictable

As privacy laws become more widespread, facial recognition technology may be widely banned.

IG Photography/Getty Images

Of all the detection options available to algorithms today, facial detection evokes the most sci-fi dystopian fears, which is one of the reasons it has also become a leading driver of AI and facial privacy legislation, which, while still sporadic, is on the rise.

Federal regulations are few and far between, but there is currently a presidential order calling on government agencies to review facial recognition tools, and the European Union has gone a step further, banning real-time facial recognition in public places for any reason.

US states and cities are stepping up to fill this gap at the local level. Illinois has passed the strictest biometric privacy law, which has led Google to completely block facial recognition services in the state. Meanwhile, privacy laws in Illinois, as well as in Texas and Portland, Oregon, prevent SimpliSafe from offering AI-enhanced security services with facial recognition in those locations.

Installing a Ring video doorbell.

ring

We're already seeing some workarounds to these expanding privacy laws. Eufy, for example, told me that its team is interested in bringing parent company Anker's voice recognition capabilities to its home security products. Want to store your voice profile instead of your face? ScarJo might not like it, but some homeowners might find this option safer.

We are monitoring this type of facial recognition and will let you know if any concerns arise or new laws begin to have a noticeable impact in this area. For now, please use this type of technology with caution and always ask for permission before using it.

For more information on home security and privacy, check out our guides on the best ways to deter burglars, whether it's legal to record video and audio in your home, and where you should never place your home security cameras if you want to avoid a lawsuit.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.cnet.com/home/security/google-nest-wants-your-friends-faces-should-you-give-in/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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