Facedeals Checks You In Automatically With Facial-Recognition Cameras

 

A new Facebook application, which uses cameras installed at participating businesses across the globe and special facial-recognition software that ties into your online profile, will soon allow you to 'check-in' on the social network without so much as picking up a smartphone.

The application named 'Facedeals' is currently in its trial period, but should eventually allow users to 'check-in' at locations they visit (think Foursquare) just by walking through the door. Through combining such a system with the kind of exclusivity/'Daily Deals' services proliferating with the rise of the likes of Groupon and Wowcher, Facedeals promises to deliver personal, relevant and immediate offers and discounts (customised largely through the kinds of things you 'like' on your profile) for you to take up at your current location.

Privacy concerns will continue to dog Facebook for as long as it remains relevant to the masses, so to see the social networking giant potentially allow such invasive services to be introduced onto the site – were the service to be implemented - is a testament to the company sticking to its guns, in a bid to make the “world more transparent.”

Developed around open source platforms – including Raspberry PI, Arduino, OpenCV and Facebook Graph API – it is unclear at this moment in time whether the ad agency behind it, Red Pepper Land, has sought prior consent from Facebook to develop the system. If the Facedeals service is given the go ahead, we're one step closer to barmen greeting you by name with your preferred beverage already on ice. Big Brother is watching.

Richard Birkett