As near as I can tell, the main reason that moves people to "verify" their account is that SW administrators want them to.
Besides that reason, some members seem to honestly think that offering up "proof" photos to confirm their real identity makes them more trustworthy, or protects them from people who aren't.
I've seen this happen - and fail - on other social media sites. People who choose not go along inevitably fall out with those who do. And other research I've done has turned up numerous risks to identity theft linked to facial recognition hackers.
The only ones who seem to benefit are advertisers and admins who profit from an additional layer of personal data they can exploit.
But people will always find reasons for doing whatever they choose to do.
I'm not "verifying" anything, and honestly don't care if it drives certain people away. I'm not that desperate for anybody's approval.
@BatRinseRepeat (this is a genuine question, not meant to be snarky) How does this verification process create greater risk for exploitation by facial recognition hackers? Is it photo size? Is it affected by how public our account settings are?
Its not so much about the kind of photo you post, its the risk involved with showing and actual image of your self in any permanent format that you don't control directly.
Not tying to drag you into an argument, but I shared some if what I learned in another post yesterday. You can decide for yourself if any of it matters :
@Earthwrap @BatRinseRepeat I wonder if I find this less concerning because I live in a massive city where I am seen by huge amounts of people every day on the subway alone? To me it’s more a confirmation of the need to be careful what content you post than anything but I do completely understand the privacy concerns, the desire for clarification, and respect the decision to not participate.
