Facebook is stalking you: Creepy new patent demonstrates the lengths they go to “connect people” – such as studying photos to compare smudge marks that would indicate they were taken by the same lens

A Facebook patent filed in 2015 was found to go such great lengths as scrutinizing minute details contained in an image in order to connect people. According to reports, the patent was designed to analyze a photo’s details — such as dust, scratches or lens marks — and compare it against photos uploaded by another user.

The patent was also purported to detect photos that appear to have been uploaded by a single user, such as completely separate images bearing nearly similar file names like IMG_5803921.jpg’ and ‘IMG_5803932.jpg’. Likewise, the patent was alleged to connect people who uploaded different photos that otherwise appear to have been taken from the same digital camera.