With or without a mask, facial recognition tools know if you are you

Face masks are no longer an obstacle for most facial recognition technology. — Sergey Tinyakov/IStock.com/AFP

An American study has shown that current facial recognition algorithms are powerful enough to identify people even if they are wearing masks. The results of today's technologies are as good for people wearing masks as the best algorithms of 2017 were with mask-free faces.

This study was conducted by the US Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) over several months starting in spring 2020. While the first results coming in during the summer were rather poor, with a 99% error rate in certain cases, technology has considerably evolved to deliver reliable results.