RealNetworks Adds Windows Support for its SAFR Facial Recognition Platform

  • October 29, 2018

RealNetworks, Inc., a provider of digital media software and services, announced the availability of its SAFR™ facial recognition platform for Windows. With support for Windows, macOS, and iOS, over 100,000 schools in the United States and Canada can download SAFR for free at https://safr.com/k12/. RealNetworks also released its Best Practices guide for using facial recognition technology to support safer K-12 campuses. The updates coincide with The National School Safety Center's annual Safe Schools Week.

SAFR utilizes existing IP-based cameras and readily-available hardware to recognize staff, students, and visitors in real time to help improve school safety, while simultaneously providing cost-savings and efficiency benefits, such as streamlining entry, record keeping, campus monitoring, and guest check-in.

"We're strongly encouraged by how delighted schools and their communities are with SAFR for K-12," said Max Pellegrini, president of RealNetworks. "Our highly accurate platform, which was designed for privacy, is part of a concerted effort to help make schools safer. With today's release of SAFR on Windows and our best practices overview, we're expanding the opportunities for schools to apply facial recognition more effectively and responsibly."

In observance of Safe Schools Week, RealNetworks published a Best Practices guide for using facial recognition technology in schools, raising awareness about security and privacy considerations associated with facial recognition technology.

"Facial recognition is a new technology for schools. Parents, teachers, and students have an interest in balancing privacy with security so we wanted to offer an introductory guide for schools to develop policies that meet all their needs," said Mike Vance, senior director of product management at RealNetworks. "Through our early partnerships with schools and school districts we've developed this set of key best practices for creating safer and more secure K-12 campuses. This guide delivers that knowledge to the public, for free."

There are six policy areas included in the implementation Best Practices guide: notice, consent, security, retention, transparency, and management. To read the full guide, visit [https://safr.com/general/privacy-by-design-best-practices-for-using-facial-recognition-to-support-safer-k-12-campuses/].

Each year, Safe Schools Week inspires communities to observe and reflect on how to create school campuses free of crime and violence to ensure that all students have access to a quality, safe education. RealNetworks supports this effort by offering free technology and resources to schools and communities.

SAFR is available for free to K-12 schools in the United States and Canada. More information is available on the website and through an online, free library of webinars at https://safr.com/k12/. 

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