Russian spy game
PRIVACY FEARS OVER FACE-AGING APP
This privacy concern is getting old quickly.
A free mobile app that lets people create photos of their aged selves went viral this week, but concerns have mushroomed over who gets the data required for the app.
FaceApp, whose parent company is the Russia-based Wireless Lab, uses artificial intelligence to transform users’ current face into their future looks, had a resurgence this week as social media timelines were flooded with before-and-after images.
Celebrities such as Will Smith, Drake, the Jonas Brothers, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and hosts of the “Today” show joined in on the fun of how they would look decades from now. According to Forbes, more than 100 million people have downloaded the app from Google Play and it is now the top-ranked app in 121 countries, reports App Annie, a mobile data company.
But privacy concerns were stoked when fears were raised on Twitter and Facebook about the app — which was launched in 2017 — having access to user’s personal data, such as sensitive financial and health data, or private photos of family and loved ones.
It’s not just celebs and average Joes who are concerned. The Democratic National Committee sent a security alert to 2020 presidential candidates warning them not to use the app, CNN reported.
“This app allows users to perform different transformations on photos of people, such as aging the person in the picture,” read the alert, issued by DNC Chief Security Officer Bob Lord. “Unfortunately, this novelty is not without risk: FaceApp was developed by Russians.”
The startup went on the defensive on Wednesday telling TechCrunch that they “don’t sell or share any user data with any third parties.”
In a statement, FaceApp’s parent said users can request their data to be deleted and it is not able to link photos to identities in most cases.
According its terms of service, the company “cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to FaceApp or guarantee that information on the service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed,” but they still own a license to do whatever they want with the images users freely provide to them.
When Smith posted a photo on Instagram of himself with sons Trey and Jaden, captioned “July 17, 2065,” he got lots of likes and cute comments, but also got this message from an Instagrammer.
“Delete this App Will! The Russians tryna get us!!”