Your Face Belongs to Us

The Secretive Startup Dismantling Your Privacy

By: Kashmir Hill

Narrated by: Kashmir Hill

*AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK*

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2024
LONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2023
A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A parable for our times' FINANCIAL TIMES, Best Books of 2023

'Gripping' THE TIMES, Best Technology Books of 2023
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What if you could be identified by anyone with just a blurry photo?
When Kashmir Hill stumbled upon Clearview AI in 2019, a facial recognition platform with an alleged 98.6% accuracy rate, the implications were terrifying.

But that was just the beginning.

Clearview AI would quickly rise to the top, sharing its app with billionaires, law enforcement and even Hollywood actors. In this gripping true story, Hill dives deep into its shadowy journey, and explores how facial recognition technology is already a part of our everyday lives – and where it’s going next.
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‘The dystopian future portrayed in some science-fiction movies is already upon us. Kashmir Hill’s fascinating book brings home the scary implications of this new reality’ JOHN CARREYROU, author of Bad Blood

'I loved this. A dark and gripping story, meticulously researched and stylishly told' JENNY KLEEMAN, author of Sex Robots & Vegan Meat

'A walk down the street will not quite feel the same again' THE ECONOMIST

Critic reviews

'As I read Your Face Belongs to Us, it dawned on me that the dystopian future portrayed in some science-fiction movies is already upon us. Whether you like it or not, your face has already been scraped from the internet, stored in a giant database, and made available to law enforcement agencies, private corporations, and authoritarian governments to track and surveil you. Kashmir Hill’s fascinating book brings home the scary implications of this new reality' (John Carreyrou, author of 'Bad Blood')

'Kashmir Hill all but invented the tech dystopia beat, and no one is a more exuberant and enjoyable guide to the dark corners of our possible future than she is. Reaching deep into the past to paint a terrifying portrait of our future, Hill’s thorough, awe-inspiring reporting and compelling storytelling paint a fascinating tale of tech’s next chapter. This is the most fun you can have reading a real-life nightmare' (Garrett Graff, author of 'The Only Plane in the Sky')

'I loved this. A dark and gripping story, meticulously researched and stylishly told' (Jenny Kleeman, author of 'Sex Robots & Vegan Meat')

‘Combining vivid reportage with a chilling overview of facial recognition technology’s capabilities, this unnerves’

‘A gripping account . . . [Hill] writes with great clarity about the dangers of facial recognition technology’

'A haunting portrait of sci-fi darkness in the real world'

'A breezy, compelling dive into the alarming use of face matching and the enormous consequences for privacy and civil liberties . . . an engrossing cautionary tale'

‘Startling, if not terrifying . . . the author does a great job of explaining the ins and outs of facial recognition in the book . . . Be very, very careful, Hill says again and again. If we’re not, we might all face the reality of Beijing today'

'So gripping' (Taylor Lorenz, author of 'Extremely Online', on Twitter)

‘I’m loving this book - you’ll laugh, you’ll recoil, you’ll learn about the sordid history of eugenics and where facial recognition tech fits into said history’ (Brian Merchant, author of 'Blood in the Machine', on Twitter)

‘Illuminating. A walk down the street will not feel quite the same again’

‘Sharply reported . . . The saga is colorful, and the characters come off as flamboyant villains; it’s a fun read. But the book’s most incisive contribution may be the ethical question it raises’

‘A most timely contribution to a much needed debate about the implications for personal privacy’