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Facial Recognition Statistics That Prove We Are Living in the Matrix
Updated: March 29,2022
Just like voice search, facial recognition is one of those AI obstacles that are very hard to conquer. Early AI systems tried and failed to match names and faces while easily solving lesser problems like navigating ballistic missiles, calculating complex weather patterns, and beating grand masters at chess. Today’s facial recognition statistics suggest that it’s a solved problem. Even your phone matches your face before letting you call your mom.
Facial recognition statistics and graphs show the efficiency of Google facial recognition. Facebook’s DeepFace recognition and open source facial recognition programs are gaining momentum as well.
It’s not all smooth sailing, though. Facial recognition software cost is a factor. And privacy advocates argue that the technology is dangerous.
Global facial recognition statistics
People are debating the pros and cons of facial recognition even as the technology is becoming commonplace. It comes up in the news, and “how does facial recognition work” has become a common Google query.
We’re not likely to resolve the privacy concerns and ethical debates, but we can shine some light on the technology’s future with this in-depth look at worldwide facial recognition use trends and statistics.
1. The facial recognition market will be worth $9.5 billion by 2022.
(Allied Market Research)
2. It takes face recognition technology two seconds to identify a person with 99% accuracy.
(Reservations.com)
3. 86% of US adults are aware of the existence of facial recognition software.
(Pew Research Center)
4. One in four Americans (26.2%) believe that the government should strictly limit the use of facial recognition technology.
(Center for Data Innovation)
5. 38% of people in the United States are against using 3D facial recognition in schools.
(Brookings Institution)
6. 44% of Americans do not feel comfortable with facial recognition AI being used at stadiums.
(Brookings Institution)
5. Only a third of US citizens are comfortable with companies using face comparison software to track employee attendance.
(eMarketer)
6. 36% of Americans don’t mind landlords using facial recognition applications to check who enters or leaves a building.
(eMarketer)
7. 72% of hotel owners will deploy technology using facial biometrics by 2025.
(Forbes)
8. Nearly two thirds (59%) of people in the United States approve of law enforcement agencies using a facial recognition app to help assess public security threats.
(eMarketer)
Facial recognition crime statistics
With the advent of new technologies, being a career criminal has never been harder. Despite the clear benefits of facial recognition tech, a lot of people (not just criminals) are worried about their privacy and wondering how to beat facial recognition. These days we even have anti facial recognition makeup, aimed at fooling the face recognition algorithm. Still, as facial recognition use statistics show, the technology is incredibly useful for law enforcement agencies and is likely to get used by the law more in the future.
9. The world’s first arrest aided by facial recognition security tech occurred in August 2018 at Washington Dulles International Airport.
(Reservations.com)
10. In its first three months, CBP used face match technology to catch 26 imposters trying to enter the United States.
(Defense One)
11. Police in New Delhi have identified nearly 3,000 missing children in just four days with the help of face tracking software.
(Independent)
12. The US Customs and Border Protection facial recognition test helped bust an imposter at the Dulles International Airport in Washington just three days after it was first introduced.
(US Customs and Border Protection)
Facial recognition airport statistics
As high security risk locations, airports are a key contributor to facial recognition statistics worldwide. By using a mix of a facial recognition camera and a dedicated face recognition app, airport security can now identify imposters and wanted criminals within seconds. Facial recognition technology statistics prove the effectiveness of using such methods, but not everyone is convinced.
While facial recognition makeup can certainly help unwanted detections in most everyday situations, airports are unlikely to let you mess around with those or any other methods of concealing your identity from our future AI overlords.
13, One in three Americans (33%) are against using facial recognition technology at airports.
(Reservations)
14. Women and older people are much more likely to support the use of facial recognition biometrics at airports.
(Reservations)
15. Legislation requires America’s top 20 airports to use facial recognition hardware when dealing with international passengers by 2021.
(Reservations)
16. US Customs Border Protection pledged to use the help of facial recognition companies in identifying faces on 16,300 flights per week by the end of 2021.
(Reservations)
Facial recognition retail statistics
The next section of our facial recognition statistics is concerned with statistics on retail facial recognition usage. So what is facial recognition used for in retail, and how do people feel about it? Let’s take a look at some stats below and find out.
17. Only 15% of Americans are fine with advertisers using the technology to check how people respond to public ads.
(eMarketer)
18. Two-thirds of Americans (60.9%) find using face scanner technology to identify loyal customers creepy.
(eMarketer)
19. Half of Americans are unfavorable towards facial recognition solutions being used to prevent theft in retail stores.
(Brookings Institution)
20. Between 2014 and 2018 face recognition and deep learning technology became 20 times better at searching databases to find matching photographs.
(NIST)
Facial recognition mobile statistics
You may have already heard about Google face recognition, or used a face comparison app in the past. The technology today is more accessible than ever, and free facial recognition software such as Photobounce, Digikam, and Picassa have enabled people to have fun with a face mapping app on their own terms.
Let’s take a look at some facial recognition software statistics.
21. Around two-thirds (64%) of all smartphones shipped in 2020 will feature facial recognition software.
(CounterPoint Research)
22. In China, facial recognition statistics are about to boom; starting in December 2019, users must submit facial scans when renewing or buying a mobile contract - a handy way for the government to collect scans of the country’s 850 million mobile internet users.
(CNN)
23. The probability of a random person unlocking an Apple device with Face ID technology is one in a million.
(Apple)
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
Although the best facial recognition software has come a long way and is able to identify 99% of people based on their facial images, there are still some complications. For example, the facial recognition accuracy rate is much worse with women of color compared to white males, according to one facial recognition study reported by the New York Times.
Considering that the technology relies on matching photographs of people with their real-time face scans, tricks like adding infrared light to your photographs, using masks or anti facial recognition makeup can be used to fool both offline and online facial recognition. However, you can forget about using those at airports and other sensitive security checkpoints
According to Apple, FaceID tech is able to tell twins apart, so if you were planning to hack into your identical twin’s iPhone you may be disappointed.
According to experts, Face ID and other similar systems are in fact less secure than fingerprints, Human facial features tend not to be 100% unique, and the AI system still has some false positives and misidentifications. Still, it’s safer than using no protection at all.
Although Google does not use any particular technology for facial recognition, statistics show that their algorithm is very accurate. There are also many other search engines and methods for using facial recognition online, such as BetaFace and PicTriev.
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A true tech and gaming savant, Ivan has been fascinated by the digital world since the early days of gaming on antiques such as the ZX Spectrum and Commodore’s beloved Amiga. Whether you’re interested in the latest PC and console gaming news, antivirus software, or smartphone reviews, or simply want to learn about the newest geeky gadgets around, we at KT have you covered, and Ivan’s likely the one we’ll ask.
