Microsoft is rolling out a new artificial intelligence feature in OneDrive that uses AI facial recognition. This serves to create “face groupings,” helping users quickly sort photos of friends and family. However, the introduction of OneDrive’s Facial Recognition tool has been overshadowed by a peculiar and controversial limit.

Microsoft sets annual opt-out limit for OneDrive’s New AI Facial Recognition

For users gaining early access to the feature, it is “on” by default. Once active, the privacy settings include a notification warning that you can only toggle on or off the face recognition setting three times per year.

This unexplained limit immediately raised concerns among users and privacy advocates. It’s true that the feature itself—organizing photos by person—is common in services like Google Photos and Apple Photos (which have no toggle limits). However, the cap on control is highly unusual.

Microsoft, when pressed for an explanation regarding the restriction, refused to comment directly. The company instead offered a general statement, noting that OneDrive “inherits privacy features and settings from Microsoft 365 and SharePoint.”

The potential reason behind the company’s decision and privacy concerns

Experts speculate that the company’s silence and the restriction itself might be related to the high operational cost of biometric data deletion. Microsoft states that when a user disables the feature, it will remove all facial grouping data within 30 days. Limiting the toggling frequency is likely a measure to prevent users from repeatedly forcing the company to generate and delete massive amounts of data. At the end, this would conserve server resources.

The situation has fueled the ongoing debate about privacy control. Critics argue that any feature involving the collection of biometric data should be “opt-in.” Ideally, it should require active user consent, rather than being enabled by default. The unusual three-time annual limit adds a new ingredient to the personal data management discussion.

Source: Slashdot
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