Face recognition is one of the most challenging biometric modalities for personal identification. This is due to a number of factors, including the complexity and variability of the signal captured by a face device. Several issues incur in the management of a face template as user's identity. Data dimensionality reduction, compactness of the representation, uniqueness of the template and ageing effects, are just but a few of the issues to be addressed. In this paper we present the current state of the art in face recognition technology and how this related to the proper management of a user's identity. Some real cases are presented and some conclusions are drawn.