Apple will share face mapping data from the iPhone X with third-party app developers
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/2/16599592/apple-iphone-x-face-id-data-share-app-developers-privacy
Apple plans to share facial mapping data captured by the iPhone X’s series of front-facing cameras and sensors, according to a report by Reuters. The revelation, contained in a developer agreement detailing the use of Apple’s new facial recognition software, would appear to undermine statements Apple made during the iPhone X reveal back in September. The company’s executives at the time made an effort to placate privacy concerns with talk of strict on-device storage and end-to-end encryption.
However, there’s quite a bit of unpacking to do here regarding what developers actually have access to and under what terms. According to the developer agreement, third-party app makers only have access to the visual facial mapping data, and not the same mathematical representation of it that is used to unlock the iPhone X using Face ID. Apple claims the latter is encrypted on the device itself, so not even its own employees have access to it. Yet developers do still have access to a map of a user’s face as part of the True Depth camera, along with data on as many as 50 facial expressions that could tell a developer how exactly you raise your eyebrows or move your mouth, to name a few telling instances. This is how Snapchat’s iPhone X-specific filters, demoed onstage during the phone’s reveal, appear more sophisticated than standard ones.