[Discussion] Face Recognition problem updates and feedback

Facial Recognition in Texas

With CamPlus just found out through a new app popup that Facial Recognition feature is not allowed in some states including Texas!
Why is this not allowed?
Why is this not clearly listed as a limitation?

[Mod Edit]: Your request was merged to this topic for better visibility in order for you to receive timely answers to your questions.

@bartipoo… hopefully, @WyzeShawn will pop in here with some answers for you.

1 Like

It is mostly likely due to legal restrictions in the state, not a Wyze policy.

2 Likes

Yep, ongoing battle in TX and IL.

A quick internet search provided this:

“Texas law, like Illinois, requires individuals or companies who collect biometric data to inform individuals before capturing the biometric identifier and to receive the individual’s consent. But unlike the Illinois law, the Texas biometric privacy statute does not require a written release. The Texas law, like the Illinois law, does prohibit the sale of biometric information, and it likewise sets restrictions on how such information is stored.”

Yes I found this also. Surprised to learn there was a limit for this feature here in TX. But from the wording it sounds to me like for myself I have given consent in the app BUT does this mean strangers would need to “give consent” but not in writing? What if I had a yard sign like this? https://images.mysecuritysign.com/img/lg2/K/k2-5178-3.png

Here is the popup I saw about the limitation

1 Like

I doubt any sign would be enough since the Texas law requires consent from the individual. The sign would provide notice but you haven’t done anything to obtain consent.

My driveway v3 finally recognized me once, but it doesn’t show up in the events and I didn’t get notified. The only reason I saw that it did was I happened to check faces and there I was. In the faces tab (not the faces in the events), I can see when I was detected but not when I was detected in the events’ version. It recognized me on Tuesday but hasn’t since then (and I have been coming and going a lot).

1 Like

@WyzeShawn @UserCustomerGwen @WyzeDave any input on this limitation in TX and other states?

A. Is Wyze working on a way to get around this or have it allowed?
B. Can this be more directly called out in CamPlus documentation and marketing in the meantime?

It is disappointing to say the least after being a Beta tester of Person Detection and a longtime CamPlus user that my doorbell cam or other security outdoor/indoor cams cannot identify my family vs strangers. There are so many great use cases for the Home Security system arming/disarming and the Wyze lock unlocking etc that are out of reach without Face Recognition.

Same problem here too. :frowning:

I am also getting this error and am not in the beta program. However, I installed the app on a second device, a Samsung tablet, and logged in with the same user id. I do not get an error on the tablet and am able to make changes to the settings. I’ll probably reinstall Wyze on my Android phone to see if it does something.

Edit: I reinstalled on my phone while uninstalling from my tablet and the error went away.

This limitation is a legal one so we’re really not looking to get around it for, ya know, legal reasons. But we understand the disappointment and we’re sorry for that. :sweat_smile:

What kind of callout are you looking for in our documentation? :slight_smile:

1 Like

I totally understand the frustration when government regulates against doing something we would like to have simply for personal use. The only legal response anyone can legitimately recommend to “get around this” is for us to contact our local representatives who are the only ones who can undo this or make exceptions. For example, maybe write our local legislature and tell them we appreciate that they have good intentions to try to prevent some organizations such as the government from abusing things like this against us, but we also elect them to make things reasonable for our own personal use and ask them to consider adding a stipulation that would allow people to use facial recognition for their home security and home devices for personal use and home automation purposes. Give them a few personal examples of how it can better our life to allow our home cameras to recognize when it sees us versus someone else in our home, vs recognizing that a visitor is not a family member. Maybe point out that by not allowing this they are making our home less secure or less useful and ask them to be reasonable and push for some kind of amendment so we aren’t being punished by them, the very people we entrust to make us safer at home, not less safe. Things along those lines are something that I would probably say to my local representatives. Also, it can be helpful to find out who is assigned to which committee and reach out to those legislative members who are assigned to the committee that would oversee this issue. Probably something dealing with technology. The name of the committee will vary depending on the state.

So, just to be helpful I thought I’d look up how someone can get ahold of people in those areas where the politicians prohibited facial recognition use. Wyze’s 10-second disclaimer/notice currently says facial recognition is not allowed “in some areas including Illinois, Texas, and Portland.”


So if anyone reading this lives in Texas like @bartipoo it looks like we can go here to find out which politician represents us for our local area so we know who to contact and ask them to represent us like they’re supposed to:

Here are the TX Senate Committes. So we can go here to find the senators who are in charge of the specific issue we are upset about:

Here are the TX House (Congress) Committes. So we can go here to find the House members who are in charge of the specific issue we are upset about:


If we live in Illinois, we can find our house or senate representatives here:

Just select whether we want to contact our house or senate representative (contacting both might be the most effective). Then either type in the home address or click on our district and it will give us all their contact information.

This site has suggestions for standard ways of contacting our representatives in Illinois so our request will look professional and be taken the most seriously:

https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/icdd/Advocacy/Pages/Communicating-with-Legislators.aspx


Here’s information for contacting Portland officials who are in charge of the laws there. Go to the section that says City Council and it will have links to the contact information for the mayor and each of the commissioners:


I am not a Lawyer, and I am not representing Wyze in any official capacity to recommend anyone contact their representatives. I am simply providing helpful links for those who are upset at the laws enacted by their local representatives, and want to, of their own free will, know what options they have to do something about this. Those representatives I provided links for to be able to contact are the ones with the power to do something about this. I hope that helps. :slight_smile:

I understand legal requirements and really meant if there were any thoughts on if there could be another way to solve for this due to this limitation.
But the callout would be a more clear awareness of this feature ONLY available in certain states etc. I have been a Plus subscriber for some time and a beta user and only figured out this limitation a couple weeks ago due to that pop-up. This was the first time the pop-up was seen.
And the “more information” mentioned links to Terms of service – Wyze and Privacy policy – Wyze but those pages do not include the words “Texas”, “Face”, or “Facial”…

1 Like

Somehow I overlooked this update when it was posted, but There was a recent RC app released this week so I figured I’d try removing and re-adding Facial recognition to see if the problem is fixed now, and the V3 cam I tested it on suddenly recognized my face for the first time! Then I tried the same thing with another V3 cam and it also recognized my face for the first time! I came in here to report that the latest Beta App fixed the facial recognition problem now, and saw that WyzeShawn Announced this over a week ago already in an edit.

Anyway, that’s my report, V3 cams that have never worked before now are suddenly working! I even tested on an upside-down cam (something that has had problems with the AI in the past) and it worked too! I am going to say this fix is a great success. Thank you @WyzeShawn for listening to my report of this issue, finding the problem and creating a working solution! I greatly appreciate your team getting this resolved! Thanks. :slight_smile:

2 Likes

One of the main problems I have with Face Recognition is that I keep getting recognized but about 30% of the time it shows up as a new person. It is very tedious to manually specify all the new “faces” as myself and i feel like it is not worth it overall. I would love a way to either lower the detection parameter to see if it properly groups, as well as to batch assign faces to a person

3 Likes

thanks for the feedback. we’re in the middle of adjusting our recognition algorithm, personally I also havee this issue. We’ll stabilized the model output asap.

4 Likes

Batch assigning faces is a must. I have like 100 pictures of my face and I have to go through 3 steps each time to assign them to my name. If I could select them all in one go, and THEN assign to a name that would be AWESOME! For some reason you can batch select if you want to REMOVE faces from a name, but not ADD faces to a name, that’s not fun.

3 Likes

I agree, the batch selecting is a must. My grandmother sits outside my front door to smoke her cigarettes, and I have SO SO SO many pictures of her face too add a name to that it would never end…. To be able to select all of her, then add a name to all of the photos at one time would be amazing. Additionally, when they automatically attach a face to a name they should be asking you if their assumption is correct… as I’ve had occurrences where it was not correct. Then I deleted the attached faces and now they are just gone…. I had extremely high hopes for this feature and it’s what originally brought me to Wyze… I have high hopes that it can be resolved quickly.

3 Likes