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Should I Be Worried About OneDrive’s New Facial Recognition for My Pictures?
Microsoft is testing a new tool within its OneDrive cloud storage service. This tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize and group faces in your photos. The stated purpose is to make it easier for you to organize your pictures and quickly find photos of specific family members and friends. This feature is being introduced for some users in a new “People” section of their OneDrive account.
Key Privacy and Control Concerns
While the feature is presented as a convenience, it has raised valid concerns about user privacy and control over personal data. The idea of an AI program scanning private family photos is unsettling for many people. Beyond the basic privacy issue, users have reported specific problems with controlling the feature.
- Microsoft’s setting for this feature includes a note stating that users can only disable it three times per year.
- Some individuals who tried to turn off the facial recognition reported that the setting would not stay off and they received an error message.
- This limitation on control means you may not be able to opt out effectively, even if you are uncomfortable with the scanning.
Microsoft’s Official Position
In response to these concerns, Microsoft has confirmed that this is a limited preview test. The company states the goal is to gather feedback and improve the service before a wider release. Microsoft also assures users that the feature complies with the Microsoft Privacy Statement and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is a key privacy law in the European Union. According to their statement, photo data from EU users will be processed within the EU data border.
What You Should Do
You should review your OneDrive account settings to determine if this feature is active for you. You can typically find these options under a section related to “Privacy and permissions.” Ultimately, you must decide if the convenience of automated photo sorting is worth allowing an AI to scan your personal images. If you are not comfortable with this, you may want to explore alternative cloud storage providers that build their services with a primary focus on user privacy.