Is facial recognition at events safe and private?
It depends entirely on the platform, and there are five questions worth asking: is matching opt-in, is it scoped to one event, where is the data stored, can a guest have their face data deleted on request, and is the face data used for anything other than returning that guest their own photos. Under Australian privacy law, biometric information used for automated identification is sensitive information and attracts higher protection.
The five questions to ask
- Is matching opt-in? A guest should have to choose it, not be enrolled because they walked in.
- Is it scoped to one event? A face description from your wedding should not be compared against anything else.
- Where is the data stored? For Australian events, storing in Australia keeps it under Australian law.
- Can a guest have it deleted? There should be a route that does not depend on the host.
- What else is it used for? The honest answer should be “nothing”.
Why the concern is reasonable
Australians have grown noticeably more wary of facial recognition, largely because of its use for surveillance and security screening in retail. That is a different activity from matching a guest to their own photos at a party they chose to attend, but the word is the same and the caution is fair. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner treats biometric information as sensitive information requiring consent and higher protection.
How RSVPix answers the five
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Opt-in? | Yes. A guest only submits a selfie if they want a personal gallery. They can still see the shared gallery without one. |
| Scoped? | Yes. Matching happens within one event. |
| Stored where? | Amazon Web Services, ap-southeast-2 (Sydney). |
| Deletable? | Yes. Raise a support request from your account at home.rsvpix.com. |
| Used for anything else? | No. Not profiling, not advertising, not sold. |
Your selfie stays in this browser until you submit it.
One thing we will not claim: that access control makes matching correct. Face matching is not perfect. It can miss a guest, and it can occasionally return someone else’s photo inside the right gallery. Those are two different problems and only one of them is solved by locking the gallery.
RSVPix does not support face matching where the attendees are children and consent would come from a parent or guardian.
Related questions
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How does face recognition photo sharing work?
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Who owns the photos guests take at your wedding?
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How do you collect photos from wedding guests?
Questions people ask
Do guests have to use facial recognition?
On RSVPix, no. It is opt-in. Guests who do not want to be matched can still view and download what the host has shared.
Is biometric data sensitive information in Australia?
Yes. Biometric information used for automated identification is sensitive information under the Privacy Act and attracts higher protection, including a consent requirement.
Can I delete my face data without deleting my account?
Yes. Raise a support request from your account and ask for the selfie and derived face data to be deleted.
Last updated .