Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

381–390 of 407 posts

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#381

Post by ufmace »

the8472 wrote: post #155
cbhl wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably, you would do this after Facebook already has a copy of the nude -- uploaded by the attacker/malicious ex. If you want Facebook's computers to automatically take down any copies of the photo, yes, you're going to have to trust them with a copy of it. Automated DMCA takedowns of copyrighted music and movies work in very much the same way.

> yes, you're going to have to trust them with a copy of it. No. They could have you compute a fingerprint locally without uploading the image itself, preferably through some audited open source software, without auto-updates. They only don't do that because they want to guard their image hashing as corporate secrets.

This is aimed at non-technical users. If we're lucky, maybe like 1% of users will be able to figure out how to do that. Not to mention all of the other issues with it mentioned below.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#382

Post by bogomipz »

kinkrtyavimoodh wrote: post #210
bogomipz wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that FB isn't a bank and doesn't store one's financial data. Also this argument falls flat as we are an increasingly mobile population whether that be travel for pleasure or business. I remember watching in amusement/horror as a friend I was traveling with in Thailand wasn't able to access her Facebook account unless she verified via her phone that she was actually attempting to log into her account from Thail…

What sort of ridiculous nitpicking is this? First, FB does have a Payments feature, so if you are being pedantic, it does deal with one's financial world. Second, for a lot of people, their FB profile has a lot of confidential information, and is tied to their personal identity so they can't have the risk of it being compromised based on leaked passwords or whatever. It may not matter for you, but I am happy that the…

There's nothing nitpicky in anything I wrote. FB is not a bank. And it can not be used as someone's financial institution.

>"Second, for a lot of people, their FB profile has a lot of confidential information, and is tied to their personal identity so they can't have the risk of it being compromised based on leaked passwords or whatever."

Who puts "confidential information" on FB?

FB is based on the premise of voluntarily sharing" information. If people are willing to share information on a social networking site it can't really be considered "confidential" or even "sensitive" to you can it?

Also FB is not one's identity, despite what FB would like you to believe that it is.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#383

Post by azernik »

Faark wrote: post #346
azernik wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are specific (non-cryptographic) hashes which are built to compare equal for equal data, and to be similar for similar data (for different metrics of similarity). It's a somewhat esoteric subject, but it's a thing.

The "hash" would have to be non-reversible. When we compare images based on content, afaik we transfer them into a vector space and measure distance. Do we really have tech to make and compare such a content representation in a non-reversible way? That sounds like a lot to ask for tech that seems still in active development.

If your hash is smaller than the (compressed) image itself, then you have information-theoretical loss; there is no possible way to reverse the operation. And these hashes are usually much smaller than the original.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#384

Post by dazmax »

mitchellberry wrote: post #292
JoBrad wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to get all conspiratorial. Picasa did it before Google, AWS does it now. It’s what people (writ large) want.

Considering nearly every adult provides a photo of higher quality to their respective governments it does seem a tad conspiratorial and like a lot of unecessary effort. Also being a part of the 14 eyes means if the United States wanted my biometrics all they need to do is ask. My country is already moving towards real time cctv identification in airports etc. using biometrics from any issued license / passport.

This is a pretty good point. If you're the kind of person who has avoided getting a photo ID on purpose, you probably are staying well away from Facebook. The only targets I can think of would be homeschooled teens with no student ID.

It does however make Facebook even harder to use for anti-government organizing, though Facebook is already pretty clear about not wanting truly anonymous profiles.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#385

Post by Splines »

danso wrote: post #335
Splines wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Before we reduce this to a slippery slope, what scenario do you envision in which FB could coax its userbase to upload nude photos? I know the OP is about taking a selfie to prove existence. What would FB use as the basis to mandate the general user to send a self-nude? Phishing attacks against users that this feature is supposed to protect are more likely to succeed.

Can you elaborate? People are worried (rightfully so) that this feature requires uploading via the Facebook Messenger App. But this means they don't have to visit a URL or download another application.

They don't necessarily know that. Imagine you've used this FB feature in the past. You get a mail from @facebookrnail.com that tells you you can just email them the photos without even opening the app now! Well isn't that convenient.

Now, it's fair to say that even in a technically safer implementation where the photos never leave the device, many users can't tell the difference, so this point doesn't hold a lot of water.

Still, I think making the uploading of scandalous photos to FB is a dangerous precedent to set in general. Will other services and startups that have users suffer from the same problem implement this feature in the same way, and guarantee user safety and privacy? That's a pretty high bar.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#386

Post by rmc »

will_hughes wrote: post #257

Instagram did this same bullshit to me when I signed up for an account to to follow some photographers. 'Please provide a clear photo of yourself holding your government issued ID, and a piece of paper with the following code handwritten on it'. No, fuck that for a joke. There's this growing trend of everyone wanting your photo and some ID, and then you have no way to verify that information is being kept securely or…

> There's this growing trend of everyone wanting your photo and some ID, and then you have no way to verify that information is being kept securely or used for appropriate reasons.

This is why in the EU there are laws about that sort of thing

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#387

Post by RickS »

smsm42 wrote: post #327
benwilber0 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the KYC (Know Your Customer) laws. Online-only banks like Ally and Simple require the same thing. In fact, every bank requires this. If you opened a bank account in-person some years ago you may not remember but they asked you for your government-issued ID card. It's the same thing.

I have opened several bank accounts online and never have been asked for photo id. SSN and some knowledge-based auth sure, but no photos.

SSN and knowledge based auth are sometimes sufficient depending on where you fall against the company's risk model.

KYC processes are a type of situation where it is not a good idea to extrapolate all people's experience from one person's. The underlying mechanisms intentionally vary from person to person.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#388

Post by beojan »

will_hughes wrote: post #257

Instagram did this same bullshit to me when I signed up for an account to to follow some photographers. 'Please provide a clear photo of yourself holding your government issued ID, and a piece of paper with the following code handwritten on it'. No, fuck that for a joke. There's this growing trend of everyone wanting your photo and some ID, and then you have no way to verify that information is being kept securely or…

Until we get government signed personal digital certificates, it's the only sure way to authenticate that you really are who you say you are.

Does Instagram need to be that sure? Probably not.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#389

Post by JoshMnem »

AlphaWeaver wrote: post #286
JoshMnem wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could upload a fake photo to login, delete your content, and then delete your Facebook account.

It's already been proven that even upon request, Facebook doesn't actually delete content.

I read somewhere that actively deleting the content might give you more legal protection in getting it deleted, whether now or in the future. I don't know for sure, but I did it anyway. Also, FB can't show fake endorsements to your friends if all of your likes have been removed.

Re: Facebook’s New Captcha Test: 'Upload a Clear Photo of Your Face'

#390

Post by ixacto »

will_hughes wrote: post #257

Instagram did this same bullshit to me when I signed up for an account to to follow some photographers. 'Please provide a clear photo of yourself holding your government issued ID, and a piece of paper with the following code handwritten on it'. No, fuck that for a joke. There's this growing trend of everyone wanting your photo and some ID, and then you have no way to verify that information is being kept securely or…

Haha I wonder what they would do if you photoshop yourself into a dprk passport. These systems are a joke.
Post reply on HN