A new feature in Facebook Messenger is now rolling out that scans photos added to your camera roll in search of your Facebook friends, and suggests that you send them to the people it finds. It’s a pretty nifty feature, if you feel comfortable with Facebook looking at every single photo you take on your device and constantly processing data on the friends you’re hanging out with…
When you first enable the feature, Messenger will go searching for a recent photo on your phone that contains a Facebook friend to show you how it works. After this, you’ll notice that a notification will pop up on your phone within seconds of taking a photo telling you to send it to friends that Facebook sees within. In the current version for Android, you can send the photo right from the notification itself.
While it sounds like yet another encroachment on privacy by Facebook, product manager Lexy Franklin said that the company “really built the entire Photo Magic experience so you’re in full control.” You can head into Facebook’s privacy settings and completely turn off facial recognition for yourself if you want, and you can of course disable notifications as well if you’d like.
Facebook says that the feature is rolling out on Android in Australia right now (with iOS coming soon), and will surely make its way to other markets soon.
