Photo Storage App Reportedly Used Customers

Photo Storage App Reportedly Used Customers' Images to Train a Facial Recognition System

Ever, a photo storage and backup app, reportedly trained a commercial facial recognition system using millions of images uploaded to the service without notifying users.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • May 10, 2019

Millions of images uploaded to Ever, a photo storage and backup app, were reportedly used by the service without user knowledge to train a commercial facial recognition system. According to NBC News, Ever didn’t disclose to users of the app that their images would be used this way.

Ever uses photos uploaded to its app to train a facial recognition algorithm that powers products like a facial recognition system offered by the company to law enforcement and private companies, sold under Ever AI. Ever’s website doesn’t make this clear to users, NBC News reported, and the app only recently updated its privacy policy with more information on how customers’ photos are used by the company.

The privacy policy had previously explained that the facial recognition technology in the app—such as an opt-in face-tagging feature allowing users to search for specific friends or family on the app—was used to help “organize your files and enable you to share them with the right people.” One line— “Your files may be used to help improve and train our products and these technologies”—was the only indication the policy included that the photos could or would be used otherwise.

After NBC News first made contact with Ever for its reporting, the company added the following sentence to clarify and explain further: “Some of these technologies may be used in our separate products and services for enterprise customers, including our enterprise face recognition offerings, but your files and personal information will not be,” the policy now states.

CEO Doug Aley told NBC News that Ever AI doesn’t share photos or identifying information about users of its app with its facial recognition customers.

According to Aley, Ever decided to explore facial recognition a few years ago when he and other company leadership realized that a free photo app with some premium features for purchase “wasn’t going to be a venture-scale business.” Aley said that Ever having a “corpus” of more than 13 billion images was very valuable when developing an algorithm for facial recognition.

“If you are able to feed a system many millions of faces, that system is going to end up being better and more accurate on the other side of that,” he said.

NBC News reports that Ever AI has contracts with private companies but hasn’t signed with any “law enforcement, military or national security agencies”.

On the company’s website, Ever AI encourages public agencies to use its “technology to provide your citizens and law enforcement personnel with the highest degree of protection from crime, violence and injustice.”

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Maximizing Your Security Budget This Year

    7 Ways You Can Secure a High-Traffic Commercial Security Gate  

    Your commercial security gate is one of your most powerful tools to keep thieves off your property. Without a security gate, your commercial perimeter security plan is all for nothing. Read Now

  • Surveillance Cameras Provide Peace of Mind for New Florida Homeowners

    Managing a large estate is never easy. Tack on 2 acres of property and keeping track of the comings and goings of family and visitors becomes nearly impossible. Needless to say, the new owner of a $10 million spec home in Florida was eager for a simple way to monitor and manage his 15,000-square-foot residence, 2,800-square-foot clubhouse and expansive outdoor areas. Read Now

  • Survey: 72% of CISOs Are Concerned Generative AI Solutions Could Result In Security Breach

    Metomic recently released its “2024 CISO Survey: Insights from the Security Leaders Keeping Critical Business Data Safe.” Metomic surveyed more than 400 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) from the U.S. and UK to gain deeper insights on the state of data security. The report includes survey findings on various cybersecurity issues, including security leaders’ top priorities and challenges, SaaS app usage across their organization, and biggest concerns with implementing generative AI solutions. Read Now

  • New Research Shows a Continuing Increase in Ransomware Victims

    GuidePoint Security recently announced the release of GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team’s (GRIT) Q1 2024 Ransomware Report. In addition to revealing a nearly 20% year-over-year increase in the number of ransomware victims, the GRIT Q1 2024 Ransomware Report observes major shifts in the behavioral patterns of ransomware groups following law enforcement activity – including the continued targeting of previously “off-limits” organizations and industries, such as emergency hospitals. Read Now

Most   Popular

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols. 3

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.” 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3