Photo: Face Recognition for Online Photo Searches Sparks Privacy Fears

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A screenshot shows how Polar Rose, a soon-to-be-launched photo search service, will display results on the photo-sharing site Flickr. Orange rose icons denote faces the system recognizes, while red roses mark unfamiliar mugs.

Polar Rose's technology uses facial recognition software to create a 3-D version of a face and scan for matches in other images. To improve reliable results, the company plans to ask users to identify people they know in online photos, eventually creating a huge database that links facial maps to personal information.

Image courtesy Polar Rose

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