Photomyne Facing BIPA Class Action Lawsuit Over Facial Recognition Technology in Photo-Editing Apps

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A proposed class action claims Photomyne, the developer of several photo-editing apps, has violated an Illinois privacy law by collecting, storing and using residents’ facial scans without authorization.

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According to the 27-page lawsuit, the apps operated by the Israeli company—namely, its Photo Scan by Photomyne, Photo Scanner Plus, Photo Family Tree and Face/Face Photo Similarity apps—capture, store and utilize users’ biometric information despite failing to provide notice or obtain consent before doing so. The privacy suit alleges Photomyne’s conduct has directly violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which aims to protect consumers from the misuse of their sensitive biometric data.

Per the case, the photo-editing features in Photomyne’s apps allow users to recognize and tag people’s faces in pictures, detect and sharpen blurry faces, generate “imaginary family memories” with artificial intelligence technology and more.

Once a user takes a selfie or uploads a photo in one of the apps, Photomyne’s software scans and stores the facial geometry of each person whose face appears in the picture, the complaint shares. The biometric data is then used to digitally apply any of the app’s various features, the filing says.

The lawsuit contends that the app developer has breached the BIPA’s clear requirements by failing to notify Illinois users of its biometric data collection practices and inform them how long and for what purpose the information will be stored and used.

In addition, the suit claims the company has unlawfully failed to establish public guidelines that detail its data retention and destruction policies.

The plaintiff, an Illinois resident, says he has used the Photo Scan and Photo Scanner Plus apps to edit pictures in the past. By doing so, the man had his unique facial geometry scanned and captured by the defendant without his knowledge or consent, the case charges.

The Photomyne privacy lawsuit looks to represent any Illinois residents whose facial geometry was collected, obtained, stored and/or used by the app operator within the state.

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