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Facebook Wants to Make Sure No One Is Using Your Pic to Catfish

Facebook will notify you if someone uploads your photo but does not tag you, or if someone posts your image as their profile photo.

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Are you worried about frenemies posting unflattering images of you on Facebook? Or, concerned that someone might use your image as their profile photo and catfish people? Fear not, because the social network has some new, optional tools that can keep you in the know when someone uploads your image without tagging you.

"Now, if you're in a photo and are part of the audience for that post, we'll notify you, even if you haven't been tagged," Facebook Director of Applied Machine Learning Joaquin Quiñonero Candela explained in a Tuesday blog post. "You're in control of your image on Facebook and can make choices such as whether to tag yourself, leave yourself untagged, or reach out to the person who posted the photo if you have concerns about it."

Candela went on to say that Facebook will respect the privacy setting people select when posting a photo, meaning "you won't receive a notification if you're not in the audience." So, if someone posts your photo to a private group you're not a part of, you won't get a notification about it.

In the near future, Facebook also plans to use face-recognition technology to notify you when someone else posts your image as their profile photo.

"We're doing this to prevent people from impersonating others on Facebook," Candela wrote.

These new features are powered by the same face-recognition technology Facebook uses to suggest friends you might want to tag in photos and videos.

Facebook is also planning to roll out a "simple on/off switch" to replace the settings for individual features that use face-recognition technology.

"People gave us feedback that they would find it easier to manage face recognition through a simple setting, so we're pairing these tools with a single 'on/off' control," Candela wrote. If you set this feature to "off," Facebook won't be able to recognize you in photos and videos.

Meanwhile, Facebook is also introducing a feature that will tell visually impaired users with screen readers who appear in the photos in their News Feed, even if those people aren't tagged.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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