14 DAY TRIAL // Google seems determined to copy (almost) everything about Facebook, but learn from its mistakes. It has recently enabled a face recognition technology for Google+ photos, the same one that got Facebook a lot of, mostly unwarranted, flack.
The crucial difference, because there had to be one, is that the feature is opt-in on Google+ while Facebook's was enabled by default, users had to opt out if they did not want it.
That should be enough to avoid any criticism of the feature, but it also means that fewer people are going to use it.
"Around the holidays, many of us get together with friends and family, and if you’re like me, you take lots of photos! Tagging those photos can be a lot of work. So today we’re launching Find My Face, an easier way to tag photos of yourself and your friends," Google's Matt Steiner, engineering lead for the Google+ Photos team, wrote.
"By turning on Find My Face, Google+ can prompt people you know to tag your face when it appears in photos. Of course, you have control over which tags you accept or reject, and you can turn the feature on or off in Google+ settings," he explained.
Find My Face is opt-in, users will be prompted to enable it, but if they don't want it they won't be bothered with it again. Find My Face enables your friends to tag you in photos easier, since your name will be suggested if you are recognized in a photo.
It's important to note that only your friends, i.e. the people you have in your circles, presumably people you already know, will get these suggestions.
What's more, you get to approve any tag a friends makes, so if you don't want your name in a certain photo you can simply not allow it. Find My Face is now rolling out, but it is not enabled for all users yet.