Apple has patented a facial recognition system that will group people in photographs to make storage and sharing easier.The 'Systems and methods for sending digital images' patent describes various methods for streamlining the sharing of photos by linking faces to contact data, also utilizing facial recognition tech.Filed in February 2014 but published this week, the system also outlines ways to link contact data to identified faces, and giving users different options for sharing photos with people in them – such as via email or SMS.”Facial recognition algorithms may identify the faces of one or more people in a digital image. Multiple types of communication may be available for the different people in the digital image. ߪ The facial recognition data for the face may be stored in association with the name and address for the face. For example, a record in a database with a facial recognition data field, a name field, and an address field can be created or updated,” writes the patent.The system recalls the Facebook Moments app that launched in the US earlier this year, but which has been blocked by the firm in Europe due to privacy concerns.”Regulators have told us we have to offer an opt-in choice to people to do this,” Facebook's head of policy in Europe, Richard Allan, told The Wall Street Journal about that app. “We don't have an opt-in mechanism so it is turned off until we develop one.”

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