You may have seen your friends share the results of a Facebook challenge which went viral, in which users post a photo from 10 years ago and one from the present day.
Over 5.2 million people, including many celebrities, participated in this challenge.
It’s the latest in popular yet controversial online activities, and follows the Bird Box Challenge which saw some people drive blindfolded and which drew criticism.
The motive behind this viral challenge has now been questioned and some users are wondering if this was a ploy by Facebook to train a facial recognition algorithm.
Kate O’Neill, a writer for Wired, said the process would help Facebook if it knew exactly how far apart the pictures were taken.
Some users argued to the contrary – that Facebook already has access to these photos, but it’s been pointed out that users don’t necessarily upload in chronological order.
Facebook insists that it has no benefit from the challenge going viral.
