WASHINGTON — The IRS said this week that it will suspend the use of facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice was criticized by privacy advocates and lawmakers.

The agency said it would no longer use a third-party service, called ID.me, for facial recognition. Critics of the software said the database could become a target for cyberthreats. They also expressed concern about how the information could be used by other government agencies, among other concerns.

The IRS is grappling with a worker shortage and an expanded workload from processing tax filings and administering pandemic-related programs.