Facebook acquires biometrics firm Face.com

In what could be a sign it is planning facial recognition in its service, social networking giant Facebook has acquired face recognition technology company Face.com.

 

Face.com confirmed this in a blog post Monday, even as it indicated its technology will likely be used in the photos shared on Facebook.

 

“Facebook has acquired Face.com! Our mission is and has always been to find new and exciting ways to make face recognition a fun, engaging part of people’s lives, and incorporate remarkable technology into everyday consumer products. If you’re anything like us, Facebook is a part of your life every single day.  We keep up with our friends and family, share interesting (or mundane) experiences from our daily lives, and perhaps most importantly for us, we share a LOT of photos,” it said.

 

It also indicated Facebook’s acquisition is aimed at mobile users who “both create and consume content, and share content with their social graph.”

 

“By working with Facebook directly, and joining their team, we’ll have more opportunities to build amazing products that will be employed by consumers – that’s all we’ve ever wanted to do,” it said.

 

Face.com assured developers who use its technology to power various apps that it plans to continue to support its developer community.

 

Last May, tech site The Next Web cited a report by Israeli business publication Calcalist that Facebook is eyeing buying Face.com.

 

It also cited a separate article on tech news blog Newsgeek that the deal could involve between $80 and $100 million.

 

"Founded in 2007, Face.com offers accurate facial recognition software that could help Facebook users identify people in photos faster, both on desktop and mobile," The Next Web said.

 

It added Face.com has long been rumored to be an acquisition target for Facebook, even way before there was talk about Facebook going public.

 

"From what we heard, negotiations between the two companies have been held a number of times over the years, but Face.com has so far rebuffed offers because of the ‘low’ price Facebook was willing to pay. We’ll see if this deal ever gets inked," it said.

 

The Next Web said Face.com built a popular Facebook application itself called Photo Tagger, which lets people scan their or their friends’ photo albums for known faces.

 

Recently, it launched a mobile facial recognition app for iOS called KLIK. The startup also operates a platform of its own by offering a public API, The Next Web said. — TJD, GMA News