Ever app trained facial recognition tech on users’ photos, report says

From cnet.com

The company, however, says images collected via the photo storage and backup app aren’t used to train its enterprise facial recognition products.

Ever, a photo storage and backup app, reportedly used millions of images uploaded to the service to train a commercial facial recognition system that it offers to law enforcement and private companies. The problem, according to NBC News, Ever didn’t clearly disclose this to users of the app.

Photos uploaded to the Ever app are used to train an algorithm that powers the company’s facial recognition products, sold under Ever AI, NBC News reported on Thursday. This isn’t obvious on Ever’s website, according to NBC News, but the app reportedly updated its privacy policy in April with more information on how the company uses customers’ photos. NBC News said it spoke with seven Ever users, and most didn’t know their photos were being used to build facial recognition tech.

In an email, Ever AI CEO Doug Aley said the NBC News report is inaccurate and that the company isn’t taking images collected via the Ever app and using them to train facial recognition on the Ever AI side.

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