A networking app enabling users to scan students' faces using facial recognition prompted a backlash amongst Harvard students, social media users, digital rights advocates and commentators.

Harvard student Yuen Ler Chow's The Facetag, an imitation Facebook app intended to simplify contact exchanges among students, provides a privacy feature whereby a user must give permission before someone else accesses their profile. 

However, the app sparked a backlash amongst students and others concerned about the potential for non-consensual information gathering and the risk of data breaches.

'It's kinda weird how I see so many people scared over the fact that I'm collecting this data, but almost all the other social media apps collect way, way more' he argues.

Chow claims 'FaceTag is the next Facebook.' 'I’m Zuck, but better' he claims, saying he aims to expand FaceTag to other colleges and communities.

The app closed almost immediately after the fracas.