Would you wear a mask to protect your identity?
Privacy is a big concern in this day and age. Primarily because there seems to be a total lack of it.
From social media to cameras on street corners, thereโs no way to escape the lens.
Many of us use social media to keep in touch with family and friends. Not only do we post โupdatesโ of our accomplishments and achievements, we post something a bit more personal and even eye-catching. Ourselves.
We share pictures without even thinking of where they could end up. But once your picture is put out on the internet, itโs out there for good. Anybody, from anywhere, will have access to what you look like.
This may seem harmless (hey, everybodyโs doing it), but in doing so, we inadvertently put ourselves and our privacy at risk.
Polish designer and writer, Ewa Nowak, takes the threat quite seriously. In fact, sheโs designed a mask that protects the identity of the wearer from facial recognition software.
The mask is a sleek, minimalist design that sits across the wearerโs face, resting particularly over the cheekbones and forehead.
Weโre not kidding when we say, it looks like something that came straight out of a science fiction movie. Though the mask prevents cameras from scanning your face, it definitely wonโt deter passersby from staring. It will draw attention.
Youโve been warned.
But if your concern over your privacy is greater than your concern of how others would perceive you, read on.
The mask is fittingly called Incognito. Itโs made of brass (gold-colored) and has three shapes that are designed to fit your face: two circles and an elongated polygon.
The two circles rest over your cheekbones and the polygon rests between your eyebrows and spans the height of the forehead.
The shapes are connected by a fairly thick wire that secures the mask, allowing it to rest over the wearerโs ears like a pair of glasses.
Nowak stands behind her product, writing:
โThis project was preceded by a long-term study on the shape, size, and location of mask elements so that it actually fulfills its task.โ
Others seem to be impressed with the mask as well. It recently won the Mazda Design Award at the ลรณdลบ Design Festival.
Nowak tested the mask against the DeepFace Algorithm used by Facebook. She uploaded a photo of herself with the mask on and the software was unable to read her face.
It turns out that the size and arrangement of the shapes on the mask disturb the prominent features of the human face. Thus, face recognition cameras canโt read the face properly.
Nowakโs reason for creating the mask is simple:
โCameras are able to recognise our age, mood, or sex and precisely match us to the database โ the concept of disappearing in the crowd ceases to exist.โ
โThis has a huge value in the form of increased security and detection of dangerous units. On the other hand, in which direction will the surveillance of society develop?โ
The mask is considered an avant-garde piece of facial jewelry.
Designers, Katja Trinkwalder and Pia-Marie Stute, have come up with something similar with their โAccessories For The Paranoidโ project.
This four object project blocks the collection of the userโs information in different ways by generating fake data that blurs their digital profiles. Essentially, it hides the userโs true identity with โa veil of fictive information.โ
Though different, both of these projects aim to protect peopleโs identities and privacy in a world where both are easily accessible to anybody, anytime.
Would you be interested in either of these products?
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