Apple shares your face with apps

Poop that mimics your facial expressions was just the beginning.

It’s going to hit the fan when the face-mapping tech that powers the iPhone X’s cutesy “Animoji” starts being used for creepier purposes. And Apple just started sharing your face with lots of apps.

Beyond a photo, the iPhone X’s front sensors scan 30,000 points to make a 3D model of your face. That’s how the iPhone X unlocks and makes animations that might have once required a Hollywood studio.

Apps don't require these things, yet. But is Apple doing enough to stop it? After I pressed executives this week, Apple made at least one change—retroactively requiring an app tapping into face data to publish a privacy policy.

“We take privacy and security very seriously,” Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said. “This commitment is reflected in the strong protections we have built around Face ID data—protecting it with the Secure Enclave in iPhone X—as well as many other technical safeguards we have built into iOS.”

Indeed, Apple—which makes most of its money from selling us hardware, not selling our data—may be our best defense against a coming explosion in facial recognition.

But I also think Apple rushed into sharing face maps with app makers that may not share its commitment, and it isn’t being paranoid enough about the minefield it just entered.

UCJ, UNILORIN.