https://www.404media.co/inside-ices-supercharged-facial-recognition-app-of-200-million-images/ Account * Log in * Subscribe Navigation * Home * About * RSS * Support/FAQ * Podcast * FOIA Forum Archive * Merch * Advertise * Referral Program * Thanks * Privacy Follow us Twitter Bluesky Mastodon Instagram TikTok Facebook RSS Sign in Subscribe * About * RSS * Support/FAQ * Podcast * FOIA Forum Archive * Merch * Advertise * Referral Program * Thanks * Privacy Advertisement * Go ad free News Inside ICE's Supercharged Facial Recognition App of 200 Million Images Joseph Cox Joseph Cox * Jul 17, 2025 at 12:31 PM 404 Media has seen user manuals for Mobile Fortify, ICE's new facial recognition app which allows officers to instantly look up DHS, State Department, and state law enforcement databases by just pointing a phone at someone's face. Inside ICE's Supercharged Facial Recognition App of 200 Million Images Image: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE officers are able to point their smartphone's camera at a person and near instantaneously run their face against a bank of 200 million images, then pull up their name, date of birth, nationality, unique identifiers such as their "alien" number, and whether an immigration judge has determined they should be deported from the country, according to ICE material viewed by 404 Media. The new material, which includes user manuals for ICE's recently launched internal app called Mobile Fortify, provides granular insight into exactly how ICE's new facial recognition app works, what data it can return on a subject, and where ICE is sourcing that data. The app represents an unprecedented linking of government databases into a single tool, including from the State Department, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the FBI, and state records. It also includes the potential for ICE to later add commercially available databases that contain even more personal data on people inside the United States. Do you know anything else about this app? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co. "This app shows that biometric technology has moved well beyond just confirming someone's identity. In the hands of ICE officers, it's becoming a way to retrieve vast amounts of data about a person on demand just by pointing a camera in their face," Dave Maass, director of investigations at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), told 404 Media. "The more they streamline its use, the more they streamline its abuse. When an officer says, 'papers please,' you could choose to say nothing and face the consequences; with face recognition, your options are diminished." 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Becky Ferreira Becky Ferreira * Jul 17, 2025 Advertisement * Go ad free Advertisement * Go ad free * Hide Unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL. 404 Media is a new independent media company founded by technology journalists Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox. * About * RSS * Support/FAQ * Podcast * FOIA Forum Archive * Merch * Advertise * Referral Program * Thanks * Privacy Twitter Bluesky Mastodon Instagram TikTok Facebook RSS Join the newsletter to get the latest updates. [ ] Success Great! Check your inbox and click the link to confirm your subscription (c) 2025 404 Media. Published with Ghost.