Facebook asking users for a 'clear' selfie before letting them access their account

Facebook has now started asking users to upload a selfie in order to verify they are a real person and not a bot. The automated photo verification process, which checks if the photo uploaded is unique, is being tested by Facebook on a small pool of users.

A twitter user @flexlibris shared a screenshot of the request from Facebook sent to her by a friend before they could access the account.

“Please upload a photo of yourself that clearly shows your face,” the message reads. Facebook says it will check the photo and then “permanently delete it from our servers”.

“Facebook is now locking users out of account features, then demanding that those users ‘verify’ their account to get back in by scanning an image of their face,” she tweeted.

Many Reddit users reported that Facebook not allowing them to log on without uploading a photo back in April, with one complaining: “I started by uploading pictures that had already been taken, then took a couple of myself. Every time it says the picture is invalid.”

“I just discovered the same problem. I don't even post anything on Facebook ... so I don't know how my picture would help,” wrote another.

The photo verification process is an alternative to the CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) challenge which requires humans to pass a basic test to prove they are not spam-spreading bots.

A Facebook spokesperson said they may ask users to prove she or he is a real person “when our systems detect suspicious activity”.

They added: “Our abuse-fighting team builds and constantly updates a combination of automated and manual systems that help us catch suspicious activity at various points of interaction on the site, including creating an account, sending Friend requests, setting up ads payments, and creating or editing ads.”