Join our Community
Support ToI and remove all ads
Learn more
×

Facial recognition

People walk past an Apple store at the Huangpu district in Shanghai, China, on January 20, 2026. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)
January 30, 2026, 1:50 pm
Apple buys Israeli startup, reportedly for $2 billion, that reads facial ‘micro movements’
In its second-largest ever acquisition, US tech giant acquires Q.ai amid effort to break into wearables market; 30% of firm’s staff were called up to reserve duty on Oct. 7
By ToI Staff
Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators line up across from police on University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, Va., May 4, 2024. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
March 29, 2025, 11:56 am
Private groups use facial recognition to unmask anti-Israel campus protesters for deportation
Amid push by Trump administration to revoke visas from foreign students involved in violence, an array of private groups are working to identify and report them to authorities
By ADAM GELLER
Illustrative: Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel students protest at an encampment on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 28, 2024. (JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP)
December 2, 2024, 6:42 pm
US Jewish group targets anti-Israel protesters in hopes Trump will deport them
Right-wing Betar movement uses artificial intelligence tool to identify foreign students involved in anti-Israel action on college campuses
By Zev Stub
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with female surveillance soldiers at an army base on the Gaza border, March 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
March 27, 2024, 4:52 pm
Report: IDF using facial recognition tools to identify, detain suspects in Gaza
AI tech first deployed to find Israeli hostages is increasingly being used on Palestinians, reports New York Times, with some claiming error-prone tools lead to mistaken arrests
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: A picture taken on February 27, 2023 shows facial recognition software on the Metaverse stand at the Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona. (Thomas Coex/AFP)
February 24, 2024, 2:47 pm
Error reveals vending machine at Canada university secretly using facial recognition
University of Waterloo promises to get rid of machines amid privacy concerns; manufacturer denies storing or transferring information
By ToI Staff
Volunteers search for information on hostages abducted by Palestinian terrorists on October 7 from a music festival in southern Israel near the border with Gaza, at the offices of Gitam BBDO communications group in Tel Aviv on October 25, 2023 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)
October 26, 2023, 4:28 pm
Israeli tech workers bring innovation, AI to search for hostages held in Gaza
Volunteers operate ‘civilian war room’ as they work with facial recognition software to gather any available information on whereabouts of the over 220 people seized by terrorists
By AFP and ToI Staff
Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, left, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the scene of a terror attack in the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, outside of Jerusalem, August 1, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
September 18, 2023, 2:39 pm
Ministers back bill to legalize widespread police use of facial recognition tech
Touted as a tool to fight violent crime in Arab communities, cameras could be deployed in public spaces with minimal oversight; bill also okayed by Justice Ministry legal adviser
By Carrie Keller-Lynn
An Israeli technician climbs up a pole to install a surveillance camera on a street in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras al-Amud on January 24, 2019. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
September 18, 2023, 2:57 am
Ministers to approve bill legalizing police use of facial recognition cameras
Legislation co-sponsored by Yariv Levin and Itamar Ben Gvir will allow police to use monitoring systems to ‘prevent, thwart or uncover serious crimes’
By ToI Staff
An Israeli soldier stands under a surveillance camera at a checkpoint in the flashpoint Palestinian city of Hebron on November 9, 2021 (HAZEM BADER / AFP)
May 2, 2023, 11:14 am
Israel increasingly using facial recognition to track Palestinians – Amnesty
IDF says it carries out ‘necessary security, intelligence operations’; human rights group says basic rights violated; activist laments tech not used to find Jewish attackers
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: An artificial intelligence tool identifies elements of a human face for analysis (vchal via iStock by Getty Images)
February 12, 2023, 10:03 pm
How old do you look? Israeli experts find humans still outguess AI, and suggest why
‘Rather than overcoming our biases for assessing ages, AI is actually exaggerating the same biases,’ says author of peer-reviewed research
By Nathan Jeffay
Rush lead singer Geddy Lee with mother Mary Weinrib, an Auschwitz survivor, in an undated photo. (Instagram photo)
June 28, 2022, 9:07 pm
AI identifies rocker Geddy Lee’s mother in Holocaust photos
Google engineer develops algorithm to identify lost faces in WWII photos as part of Numbers to Names project
By Jackie Hajdenberg
Dany Tirza, stands next to a dummy as he speaks at his office in the West bank settlement of Kfar Adumim, on December 14, 2021. (Ahmad Gharbali/ AFP)
January 23, 2022, 9:04 pm
Israeli firm develops body cams with facial recognition technology
Dany Tirza says his company aims to enable police to scan crowds and detect suspects in real time, even if their faces are obscured
By Daniella Cheslow
Illustration. Palestinian students protest at a checkpoint entrance in the divided West Bank city of Hebron on May 12, 2016. (Wisam Hashlamoun/FLASH90)
November 8, 2021, 4:27 pm
IDF building facial recognition database of Palestinians in Hebron — report
Washington Post details how Blue Wolf technology is used to screen Palestinians in West Bank city, with soldiers incentivized to take photos of residents
By ToI Staff
An illustrative image of AI (artificial intelligence) and facial recognition technologies (KENGKAT; iStock by Getty Images)
October 1, 2021, 10:00 am
Israeli researchers bypass facial recognition using AI-generated makeup patterns
After conventional cosmetics applied to the most identifiable areas of the face, 20 test subjects are detected just 1.22% of the time
By ToI Staff
Israeli startup AnyVision uses artificial intelligence to recognize faces, bodies and objects for security and other purposes. (YouTube screenshot)
April 21, 2021, 4:27 pm
US firms said using Israeli tech for controversial facial recognition
AnyVision system touted as improving security and preventing crime, but social rights activists say practice infringes on privacy, could hurt marginalized groups
By ToI Staff
Load More
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Paying ToI Community members are invited to comment on articles
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By joining you agree to the terms and conditions
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Join The Times of Israel Community
Only ToI Community members can comment below articles
Forgot your password? / Send me a login link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.
Join The Times of Israel Community
Commenting is available for paying members of The Times of Israel Community only. Please join our Community to comment and enjoy other Community benefits.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Confirm Mail
Thank you! Now check your email
You are now a member of The Times of Israel Community! We sent you an email with a login link to . Once you're set up, you can start enjoying Community benefits and commenting.
Back to top
Never miss breaking news on Israel
Get notifications to stay updated
You're subscribed
image
Register for free
and continue reading
Registering allows you to manage your newsletters and alerts and helps us improve your experience. It takes just a few seconds.
Already registered? Enter your email to sign in.
Please use the following structure: example@domain.com
Or Continue with
By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. Once registered, you’ll receive our Daily Edition email for free.
Register to continue
Or Continue with
Log in to continue
Sign in or Register
I forgot my password / Send me a sign in link
Or Continue with
check your email
Check your email
We sent an email to you at .
It has a link that will sign you in.