News updates all day from Fast Company.
The Israeli facial recognition company Face.com has just agreed to be acquired by Facebook. Dedicated to finding "new and exciting ways to make face recognition a fun, engaging part of people's lives" the company promises to maintain support for the many third-party developers who use its technology. Rumors of the purchase first surfaced in May, and according to TechCrunch the acquisition price was around $100 million. The move is the latest in a mini-acquisition spree by Facebook, fueled by its IPO cash injection.
Facebook has dallied with face recognition in the past, notably in 2011 when it opted-in hundreds of millions of people to the feature only to turn it off shortly after. This buy will raise inevitable questions about privacy, although both Apple and Google have already integrated face recognition technology into their products as well.
To keep up with the news, visit our main Fast Feed page during the day.