Meta is bringing back facial recognition for Facebook and Instagram, but this time with a more focused purpose: fighting scams and helping with account recovery. 

The tech will be used to block scam ads, particularly those that use the likeness of public figures in fake endorsements.

If a match is found between a scam ad and a public figure’s profile picture, Meta will delete the facial data after a one-time comparison. Public figures can also opt out if they prefer not to participate.

While Meta already uses automated tools like machine learning to identify policy-violating content, it acknowledges that distinguishing between fraudulent celeb-bait ads and legitimate ones remains a challenge.

For regular users, Meta is testing facial recognition as a way to recover hacked or locked accounts by verifying identity through a video selfie instead of a manual review. 

The feature is still being tested, and it’s not available for business accounts yet.
 Meta is also being cautious by ensuring that all data collected is immediately deleted after use.