There are several incidents reported of people being paid $5 for their face data. It appears that this is Google's way of collecting face data. According to some speculations, the search engine giant is doing this in preparation for the Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL.
Reports claim that several employees of the search engine giant are randomly stopping people on the street and giving them $5 gift cards as payment for their face data. This is most likely to train models for the facial recognition feature of Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL. Based on previous speculations, the search engine giant is going to release its flagship devices with their own version of Face ID.
To achieve this, the company will require a lot of data. Interestingly, the latest report could be one of the company's methods of collecting data in public places and giving out gift cards in exchange for their face data. The incident was first reported by ZDNet which told a story of a man approached by employees of Google in New York City.
According to the report, the guy was sitting in a park enjoying the weather and witnessed several guys walking around, talking to people, and appears like they were taking a survey. One of the guys approached him and introduced himself, told him he is working for Google. The Google employee explained to him that they were collecting data to be used for their next generation of facial recognition feature that unlocks smartphones.
When he accepted the offer, the Google employee handed the man a phone which came from a large case. His face was scanned from all angles using the software on the device. After that, the employee gave him a $5 gift card that he could use to Starbucks or Amazon and left to find another willing participant.
A reader from another tech site explained almost the same scenario but this time in Miami Florida. But, unlike the man in New York City, this time he was asked to a modified Pixel 3 XL from the pocket and scan at notifications while also taking face data. When he asked for the purpose of the task, the Google employee only told him that it would be used for a future Google product.
This could simply mean that the search engine giant, despite its peculiar data collection method, is trying t collect more face data to help train models for the upcoming facial recognition feature of Google Pixel 4 and Google Pixel 4 XL. Most likely, the phone in New York City and the modified Google Pixel 3 in Miami are the early models of Google Pixel 4 or Google Pixel 4 XL.
