People Are Warning Others About Potential Data Mining From Using Viral FaceApp Filter
Published in 2016, FaceApp has seen a sudden surge in popularity once again due to its aging filter.
By Alyssa J. Oon — 18 Jul 2019, 03:45 PM
FaceApp, an artificial intelligence (AI) face editor app published in 2016, is going viral once again for its age-altering filter
You've probably seen it everywhere by now.
Along with the app's sudden rise to popularity once again, comes scrutiny of its security and warnings to not give in to the hype
FaceApp is developed by a Russian company, headed by chief executive officer Yaroslav Goncharov.
Some of the concerns raised include the app having absolute control and usage rights of your photos, and collection of personal information by the app, its affiliates, and service providers.
However, numerous professionals in the tech industry have assured that - to the best of their knowledge - there is no hanky-panky going on behind the scenes
Cyber-security researcher Jane Manchun Wong said she did not find anything "much fishy" about FaceApp, explaining that the firm uploads photos to their server to process the image, which results in the desired outcome.
"From a business perspective, hiding the photo processing code in their server makes it hard for potential competitors from copying. It also makes piracy harder," Wong added.
FaceApp has also released a statement to clarify that all photos are deleted from the server after 48 hours, reported The Verge.
Users can also send in a request to have their data removed from the servers, but the firm is currently "overloaded" with such requests.
So, does this mean you should or should not use the app? That is entirely up to you.
As Mashable Southeast Asia notes, "If you don't like your face suddenly appearing on billboards or ads, the only option is to stop using the app."
