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Russian Photographer Uses Facial Recognition To Find People He Snaps On Subway, And The Results Are Scary
"Your Face is Big Data," is a smart but also slightly scary project by Russian photographer Egor Tsvetkov. In order to show how easy it is for complete strangers to gather information about you, Egor spent six weeks taking around 100 pictures of subway commuters in St Petersburg before using a facial recognition app called FindFace to track down their internet profiles.
He used open source software to scan the 55 million plus users of VKontakte, Russia's biggest social network, and despite some of his photographs bearing little resemblance to their online pictures, Egor was (rather alarmingly) able to find around 70% of the people he snapped. “My project is a clear illustration of the future that awaits us if we continue to disclose as much about ourselves on the internet as we do now,” he said. In an age where people are using social media more than ever, perhaps it's time we started to think about how much information we really want to share with the world.
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What do you think ?
Bear Books 8 years ago
I think that most of them will be worried not bcause privacy but bcause someone is comparing their "real photos" to their "profile photos"!
Nyello 8 years ago
I think a big problem here is that so many of these people are so glued to their phones they don't even notice someone taking their picture. People need to be more aware of what goes on around them.
Daria B 8 years ago
The aesthetics of this list makes me interpret these as "common people and their dreams". The message might be a bit frightening, true, but it kinda reminds that all those "expressionless zombies" really are colourful people filled with life.
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
And when you're in a public place, now they just run face recognition and know where you live.... (but aren't home)
Arletta Soare 8 years ago
don't wanna be a party pooper here...but IT IS illegal to take a persons' photo without their consent . Interesting stalker behavior and skills taken to the idea of "art" .
Slobodan Stojićević 8 years ago
Frankly, there are some stupid comments. I got one, as well: this is all fabricated, and serves as an advertisement for the mentioned app.
Ems 8 years ago
I think a girl opposite me on the subway a few weeks ago might have taken my picture. She might have just been surfing on the internet but the camera was directed straight at me. But what are you gonna do? Ask someone to show the pictures on their phone?
.gas. 8 years ago
Security settings are your friends, people. Also, be aware of who is snapping random pics of you.
Sally Brite 8 years ago
The first time I got seriously alarmed was when I uploaded a couple hundred photos on gmail and it recognized the faces of all my friends within 2 or 3 seconds. I don't post any photos anywhere ever since.
Joel Ei 8 years ago
The person who took these photos and publicized them here can be sued like flip. I hope that happens, and soon.
Olga wassupbrothers 7 years ago
Moscow and St Petersburg subway lighting make us all looks sick and tired...
FullSpectrum Survivalist 7 years ago
Guy spends 6 weeks taking 100 pictures, then posts 3 finds, where's the rest?
ivan bolitekurac 7 years ago
sorry but a few years ago people like that where called stalkers or pervs.if someone ever took a picture of me like that i would break his nose.
Barbara Giannini 8 years ago
.....And who really cares-unless you got hold of their credit card numbers and information that they did not put on social media?!
John Richards 8 years ago
Now one's fizgog can leave as much traceable evidence as a fingerprint or DNA. We must now guard our face as diligently as the RFID chip on our debit cards. How long before some enterprising entrepreneur makes a million selling custom face-masks: don't leave home without it.
Polly Petrova 8 years ago
In what kind of way are the results scary? The impression that the title makes would be far more realistic if there was a really high contrast between the the real life photos and the photos, uploaded from the users themselfs. Actually, most of the pictures correspond exactly to the real ones, so I don't seem to find something shoking or scary. This would be an interesting social experiment, based on the critique of the modern society and its abuse of technology...
Vladimír Gašpar 8 years ago
Just wear a wooden leg, fake moustache+beard and an eyepatch. No one will notice ... yo ho ho ya ha haaaarrr :)
Monseg 8 years ago
Oh! First, former porn actress to declassify, and now just passers-by. The man who started doing it, the same idiot as those who started to do it in the first case. And certainly does not make sense is when peers and PR. In general, it is nothing more than a listing service. Which in addition to search people and yet you have added to your base.
Ophélie Hollyhock 8 years ago
I wonder if he asked those people permission to share their pic online :/
Glynis Lailann 8 years ago
This is but a tiny fraction of ordinary people with Wannabe Dreams.
Michelle Su 8 years ago
No one can look cool while commuting to work or getting off work, I guess.
Aimee Davison 8 years ago
I tested it out: am unimpressed. It's not that accurate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqsxJDJvESk
Denise Melek 8 years ago
Whats so scary about that? They dont look THAT different. Plus, lights in the metro are cruel :D
Suzie Advie 8 years ago
Most of those people look nothing like the original photo snapped on the subway. I think the software has some major flaws.
Mohammad Addasi 8 years ago
I noticed that men look the same in both pictures but women look totally different. Make up is majic
Mohammad Addasi 8 years ago
i only noticed that men look the same in both pictures but women look totally different. Make up does majic
Bear Books 8 years ago
I think that most of them will be worried not bcause privacy but bcause someone is comparing their "real photos" to their "profile photos"!
Nyello 8 years ago
I think a big problem here is that so many of these people are so glued to their phones they don't even notice someone taking their picture. People need to be more aware of what goes on around them.
Daria B 8 years ago
The aesthetics of this list makes me interpret these as "common people and their dreams". The message might be a bit frightening, true, but it kinda reminds that all those "expressionless zombies" really are colourful people filled with life.
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
And when you're in a public place, now they just run face recognition and know where you live.... (but aren't home)
Arletta Soare 8 years ago
don't wanna be a party pooper here...but IT IS illegal to take a persons' photo without their consent . Interesting stalker behavior and skills taken to the idea of "art" .
Slobodan Stojićević 8 years ago
Frankly, there are some stupid comments. I got one, as well: this is all fabricated, and serves as an advertisement for the mentioned app.
Ems 8 years ago
I think a girl opposite me on the subway a few weeks ago might have taken my picture. She might have just been surfing on the internet but the camera was directed straight at me. But what are you gonna do? Ask someone to show the pictures on their phone?
.gas. 8 years ago
Security settings are your friends, people. Also, be aware of who is snapping random pics of you.
Sally Brite 8 years ago
The first time I got seriously alarmed was when I uploaded a couple hundred photos on gmail and it recognized the faces of all my friends within 2 or 3 seconds. I don't post any photos anywhere ever since.
Joel Ei 8 years ago
The person who took these photos and publicized them here can be sued like flip. I hope that happens, and soon.
Olga wassupbrothers 7 years ago
Moscow and St Petersburg subway lighting make us all looks sick and tired...
FullSpectrum Survivalist 7 years ago
Guy spends 6 weeks taking 100 pictures, then posts 3 finds, where's the rest?
ivan bolitekurac 7 years ago
sorry but a few years ago people like that where called stalkers or pervs.if someone ever took a picture of me like that i would break his nose.
Barbara Giannini 8 years ago
.....And who really cares-unless you got hold of their credit card numbers and information that they did not put on social media?!
John Richards 8 years ago
Now one's fizgog can leave as much traceable evidence as a fingerprint or DNA. We must now guard our face as diligently as the RFID chip on our debit cards. How long before some enterprising entrepreneur makes a million selling custom face-masks: don't leave home without it.
Polly Petrova 8 years ago
In what kind of way are the results scary? The impression that the title makes would be far more realistic if there was a really high contrast between the the real life photos and the photos, uploaded from the users themselfs. Actually, most of the pictures correspond exactly to the real ones, so I don't seem to find something shoking or scary. This would be an interesting social experiment, based on the critique of the modern society and its abuse of technology...
Vladimír Gašpar 8 years ago
Just wear a wooden leg, fake moustache+beard and an eyepatch. No one will notice ... yo ho ho ya ha haaaarrr :)
Monseg 8 years ago
Oh! First, former porn actress to declassify, and now just passers-by. The man who started doing it, the same idiot as those who started to do it in the first case. And certainly does not make sense is when peers and PR. In general, it is nothing more than a listing service. Which in addition to search people and yet you have added to your base.
Ophélie Hollyhock 8 years ago
I wonder if he asked those people permission to share their pic online :/
Glynis Lailann 8 years ago
This is but a tiny fraction of ordinary people with Wannabe Dreams.
Michelle Su 8 years ago
No one can look cool while commuting to work or getting off work, I guess.
Aimee Davison 8 years ago
I tested it out: am unimpressed. It's not that accurate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqsxJDJvESk
Denise Melek 8 years ago
Whats so scary about that? They dont look THAT different. Plus, lights in the metro are cruel :D
Suzie Advie 8 years ago
Most of those people look nothing like the original photo snapped on the subway. I think the software has some major flaws.
Mohammad Addasi 8 years ago
I noticed that men look the same in both pictures but women look totally different. Make up is majic
Mohammad Addasi 8 years ago
i only noticed that men look the same in both pictures but women look totally different. Make up does majic
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