One of the key differences between the Face Recognition API and SDK is that the API provides geo-distributed storage for face templates. This storage is used to register people in the database and then search for them in photos using this database.

Examples include identifying individuals on your premises, searching for criminals, recognizing people at the checkout, two-factor authentication, and more.

The convenience of the API lies in the fact that this database is already available, eliminating the need to build this logic from scratch. You simply use the method to create a person in the database to populate it, and then use another method to search for these faces in photos.

What Are Face Templates

To compare two individuals, neural networks use what are called face templates. In simple terms, these are a set of numbers that, according to the logic of the neural network, create an image of a person for it.

This is different from a photograph, as the template is closely linked to the neural network's structure. In programming, this is referred to as one-way hashing or lossy data archiving.

You cannot retrieve a photograph from this template, making storing the face template in the cloud extremely secure. It does not violate any personal data requirements.

However, in Luxand's cloud, you can also store photographs for convenience. For example, if you have an internal system where you need to display the face of the recognized person. For this, when creating a person, specify the parameter store=1.

We will upload this face to the CDN, and it will be accessible via a specific URL, which you will receive after uploading the person's image.

Learn more about face template storage in face recognition API here: Geo-Distributed Face Template Storage in Face Recognition API