A judge in California has ruled that Facebook isn't allowed to store a map of your face, Digital Spy said.

Last week, the social networking giant sought the dismissal of a lawsuit in which it is accused of "unlawfully" storing biometric data mined from people's photographs.

Facebook aimed to get the case thrown out on the grounds that its user agreement states any disputes should be governed solely by California law, which doesn't prevent biometric data collection.

However, the judge decided its terms do not protect the company from being subject to Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, and stated that the plaintiffs - a group of users from Illinois - present a "plausible claim".

"The Court accepts as true plaintiffs' allegations that Facebook's face recognition technology involves a scan of face geometry that was done without plaintiffs' consent," the ruling reads.

Facebook uses its photo-tagging system to create a faceprint for each of its users, which is then used to suggest tags for people when new photos are uploaded. Users can opt out of having their biometric data collected.

If Facebook loses the lawsuit, it could affect other companies that use facial recognition technology, such as Google.