HK Government Admits LeaveHomeSafe App Contains Facial Recognition Feature; Experts Call For Full Transparency

HK Government Admits LeaveHomeSafe App Contains Facial Recognition Feature; Experts Call For Full Transparency
A staff member holds an introduction to the LeaveHomeSafe COVID-19 contact-tracing app at a restaurant, following a (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, on Feb. 18, 2021. Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Justin Zhang
Updated:

The Hong Kong government recently admitted that its contact tracing mobile app LeaveHomeSafe contains a facial recognition function. However, the authorities claimed that they didn’t know about it before and had never used the feature.

Hong Kong residents have had concerns since the introduction of LeaveHomeSafe. Many have expressed fear of it becoming the government’s tool for implementing stricter social control or infringing on people’s privacy.