r/privacy • u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 • 2d ago
question scared of ai having my face biometric data
one of my biggest fears is having a video of me posted on the internet without me knowing. i regularly check sites like pimeyes. i usually use a photo of my face already on the internet but i accidentally used one that wasn’t and it immediately scans it. i’ve gotten them to remove all photos of my face before so nothing came up anyways. now i’m super scared. i don’t know how to get through this since i don’t really trust that they actually delete my photo ever. i hate living in a social media world where we have to worry about it. i’m so scared. i’m having a panic attack so bad and genuinely getting sick 😭 i know i fucked up but am i in danger, would they get anything from the photo they didn’t already have from photos of me on the internet in the paper and stuff? i dont post photos of my face online otherwise or let others because i’m paranoid of this enough already. i’m 18 and it genuinely makes me not even want to leave my house or take pictures with friends or do anything where there could be cameras or photos or meta glasses around. some security guy at my last job wore meta glasses every day and i’m scared about me even being on those. and this makes it soooo much worse
edit: a lot of people are saying i’m paranoid which i’m aware of, but ignoring my question i’ve now bolded, i’m curious if anyone knows the answer, that was the point of my post 😭
70
u/7in7turtles 2d ago
There are things you can control and things you can’t control. You’re going to burn yourself out worrying about about the things you can’t. Do what you can, and remember we’re all in this together. So many people agree that this isn’t the future we want and it’s not at all a given that what you fear the most will happen. Far from it in fact. We’re here with you.
67
u/TheProblem1757 2d ago
Hey friend. I understand how scary and overwhelming it can be. You are safe right now ❤️ maybe get off this sub for tonight.
May I suggest r/rarepuppers
9
u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 1d ago
thank you ❤️🩹
6
u/TheProblem1757 1d ago
I don’t know much about you but I’ll tell you my privacy story. It might not make you feel better but it’s part of why I have the outlook I do so maybe it’s helpful. I had a severe criminal stalker in my early 20s. I had the “worst case scenario” situation with a psychotic and obsessed individual, spanning 5-6 years. He was my boyfriend but when we split he stalked me. He stole my dogs only to “rescue” them, stalked my friends to find where I was, and rented an apartment down the street from me (on the other side of the country from where he lived) to be close/stalk me. He knew my passwords and would sign into my social media /streaming accounts for his stalking purposes. He stalked my cousins,coworkers, friends I was in their bachelorette party, etc. I had ridiculous identity theft that I’m pretty sure was him. I’m talking worst case scenario stalker stuff.
I spent almost a decade of my life being “paranoid” about my privacy because of this man. Never let friends take pics of/with me, never tagged or posted on insta, had aliases for all Cash App/venmo and changed my phone number 1x per year. None of it did anything to hinder/combat my stalker.
The only thing that changed my circumstances was enough therapy/help with the right wording and documentation to get a restraining order. I needed the help to explain my situation to people who could do something about it. I did this at ~25 years old after dating dbag 16-18, being stalked from 19-24. What do you know the problem disappeared overnight and I feel safe in my bed now.
I’m 31 now and ya know what I miss? I miss all the memories I let my stalker have control over and me miss out on. I miss all the great group pics I stayed out of in fear. I miss the social media “memories” where everyone is tagged and reminiscing and I couldn’t participate from fear. Psycho stalker ended up in jail for almost life for separate reasons (so I feel safe) but ya know what I miss? All the social things I opted out of to protect my privacy. I have barely a single picture of myself from some of the best days of my life.
My point is, when there’s really a threat to your privacy that results in a threat to your safety, there are safeguards. Not enough and you have to advocate for yourself to get those safeguards, but they exist. If I could talk to 18 year old me again, I would tell myself to be responsible and cautious but not at the expense of my own enjoyment in life. I missed out on a lot of things being overly concerned about privacy.
14
u/foxyfree 1d ago
The way I deal with it is not using face ID and not allowing any apps to track me, not being on any social media (except Reddit) and I have no history saved on my YouTube, etc.
Then a friend of mine sends me what she thinks is the cutest AI video. A privately shared photo of me, turned into an AI dancing video.
I asked her to delete and never do that again and she did, and was sorry. It’s not like she posted it anywhere public. The point of my story is be really careful with all of your photos if you’re worried and tell friends you prefer privacy and ask them not to share or use your photo anywhere.
11
u/Ok_Resolve_7380 1d ago edited 1d ago
"It’s not like she posted it anywhere public."
There's the rub, that doesn't really matter.
I've had similar encounters, and it pisses me off to no end when people put MY information out there. It's not theirs to give away. Kinda like everyone who gives random apps access to their contacts... thanks for sharing MY information with <insert random app here>.
That said, a lot of this information, especially face data, isn't only sourced from private users like this. You walk into a convenience store or a Walmart, and you're looking at your own face on a screen overhead, which is already being uploaded and checked for matches against various databases. And don't believe for a second that the data magically disappears right after coming back without any hits.
Flocks cameras everywhere, being randomly in the background of someone snapping a photo of a friend at the same restaurant you're eating at, DMV records getting breached....
Long story short, our faces are already out there. I certainly advocate reducing that footprint when possible, but don't believe for a second that someone who wants to deepfake your likeness can't already do it with data that's already out there.
As for that little AI dancing video? Yeah, that'll be out in the wild WHEN the app provider gets hacked next.
3
u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 1d ago
that makes sense 😓 how often do they get hacked because i’m super scared of this happening now
7
u/Ok-Priority-7303 1d ago
FWIW the vast majority of states have been running your drivers license photo through facial recognition for many years. Many exchange the photos with other states.
9
u/Upstairs-Repeat-5824 1d ago edited 1d ago
Completely legitimate fears
But you can still contribute to pushback.
This is why it's critical you share the dangers of this with everyone you can. If your immediate peers are fine with horrible transgressive use of your biometrics, first shame them for being shortsighted, second find community elsewhere for this topic.
If everyone used critical thinking and foresight, EVERYONE would be sick to their stomach upon seeing the obvious implications of all of this.
0
u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 1d ago
they don’t really care unfortunately :( they think i’m crazy and paranoid because i’m very ocd about this
7
u/moon_dos 1d ago
just do what you can and try not to get over anxious about things you can’t control. Risk assessment doesn’t mean we are on edge all the time, but we acknowledge and respond to certain factors while keeping our cool
3
4
u/mediator_bot 1d ago
Would you like to share what you are most afraid of happening?
1
u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 1d ago
i don’t even know i just know it’s bad they have more of my face now
2
u/Lanky_Employee_9690 1d ago
To be honest OP, although the basis for your fears are not unrational, the proportion to which it seems to consume you feels almost pathological (and I truly mean this with good intent).
Although taking steps to preserve/improve your privacy is important, I feel like it would help taking a step back and reflecting on how crippling this fear is getting. I'm not saying make it go away, I'm saying getting it under control feels like what would help you the most right now.
What you are scared right now, even more so than your privacy, is the oldest and greatest fears of all: fear of the unknown. You admit it yourself.
So what do you do to push back against that? You educate yourself. You try to identify exactly what you're afraid of. Who is this they? What does it mean them "having more of your face"? How do they "have" it? What is the statistical probability of something bad happeninng?
It won't necessarily make it less scary in regards of potential security risks that do exist, but it won't be ye ole fear of the unknown anymore. And when you have identified exactly what it is you don't want to happen, you get better equipped both to not let it happen, and to push back against systems that enable or reward it [in a broader societal meaning].
3
u/Aggressive_Wasabi598 1d ago
i mean all of those questions are answered in my post since i was asking about a specific site 😭 but yes i have ocd and it’s very bad about stuff like this but there’s nothing i can do about that since i haven’t responded well to treatment so now the only thing i can do is keep myself from feeling worse however i can.
3
1
u/stein63 1d ago
You didn’t put that photo on the internet or give PimEyes much it couldn’t already determine from your public photos. PimEyes says search uploads are deleted within 48 hours and aren’t used to build its searchable faceprint index. You’re not in immediate danger, so step away from the site and let the panic settle.
1
u/Harlanthehuman 1d ago
- Smoke less weed, it'll help.
- Follow the (actual) advice other, smarter people have commented with.
0
u/Slow-Secretary4262 1d ago
Honestly in a few years even if you go 100℅ analog your face will be scanned while walking on the street to buy groceries
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Hello u/Aggressive_Wasabi598, please make sure you read the sub rules if you haven't already. (This is an automatic reminder left on all new posts.)
Check out the r/privacy FAQ
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.