"Iris photography" suddenly became popular! Is it safe? Doctors warn...

Recently, a new type of "iris photo" has emerged in the market, and many netizens and businesses have posted related photos on social media.

According to media reports, the method of taking iris photos is similar to having an eye examination in a hospital. First, the customer places his chin on a tray, and strong lights on both sides illuminate the pupils, and then a camera in front takes a close-up photo. By photographing the iris inside the human eye and then rendering it in post-production, a unique iris photo can be obtained.

Iris photo shooting machine. Source: Da Wan News

According to relevant reports, the price of taking a six-inch iris photo ranges from 99 to 170 yuan. After the computer rendering effect, the photo can be obtained in half an hour, and then bracelets, mobile phone cases and other peripheral products can be designed based on the photo. As an emerging industry, many practitioners are optimistic about the prospects. Related stores have begun to appear in many places. Couples or mothers and daughters go there for photo shooting, and some people come with their pets.

Is iris photography safe? Experts warn

Different from traditional portrait photography, iris photography focuses the lens on the most mysterious iris area in the human eye. Therefore, many netizens have raised questions: the iris is unique, just like everyone's fingerprint. Will "iris photography" involve privacy leaks?

Some practitioners said that iris recognition requires liveness detection and capturing the eye movement trajectory for recognition, while iris photos are static and will be artistically rendered later, so they cannot achieve biometric recognition. "Iris photos and iris recognition belong to two different fields."

In this regard, Xu Ming, a professor at the School of Cyber ​​Security at Hangzhou Dianzi University, said that the texture features of the iris, like human fingerprints, contain a lot of unique personal information.

Although iris photos and iris biometric authentication are not exactly the same in terms of hardware, software and technical principles, it is possible that criminals with ulterior motives may use iris photos and related technical means to crack the iris biometric authentication system. "Try not to display iris photos in public."

Shao Bin, founding partner and honorary chief lawyer of Shanghai Bohe Hanshang (Hangzhou) Law Firm, said that if iris photos are taken purely as works of art and with the consent of the consumer, there is no violation of privacy. However, if the merchant uses the film to obtain illegal profits, it is suspected of infringing on citizens' personal information.

Shao Bin suggested that merchants and consumers should sign a contract before taking photos, which should include that the merchant can only collect sensitive personal information such as irises with the consent of the person being photographed to avoid subsequent disputes; and the merchant should promise not to use consumer information for other purposes, otherwise they will be held legally responsible.

Doctor: Keep your eyes away from bright light as much as possible.

Yu Pingping, director of the ophthalmology department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, said that the principle of iris photography is to magnify a part of the iris to show its fine structure. It has been widely used in medicine and generally does not cause harm to the human eye. However, since strong light exposure is often required at the moment of shooting, if the light is too strong and the light energy is focused instantly, it is still possible to cause light damage to the retina. "It is recommended that when shooting, the eyes should avoid strong light as much as possible, and do not look at the light source. Frequent shooting is also not recommended."

Han Wei, deputy director of the Ophthalmology Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, also said that if strong light exposure is required for a long time and repeated exposure, it may cause damage to those with eye diseases. Therefore, it is not recommended for patients with eye diseases such as keratoconjunctivitis, fundus lesions, or those who have recently undergone eye surgery to have iris portraits.

Zheng Bin, deputy director of teaching at the Ophthalmological Center of Zhejiang Eye Hospital Hangzhou Branch, believes that iris portraits are generally taken with visible light, which is mostly diffuse light, so its impact on the fundus is not very large. However, because the shooting process is contact-type and the head, forehead, and chin are placed on the bracket, if the previous customer has conjunctivitis or other eye infectious diseases, it may cause infection.

Source: People's Daily Science, Guangming Online, China Youth Daily, Chao News·Qianjiang Evening News, Da'an News