Fears of FaceApp photo mining unfounded, but use caution
SAN FRANCISCO — Is a peek into the future worth your privacy in the present? That concern was pushed to the spotlight this week with the resurgence of a smartphone app that uses artificial intelligence to transform your face into your younger and older selves.
People raised fears on Twitter and other social media sites that on iPhones, FaceApp would be able to see and upload all your photos, including screenshots with sensitive financial or health information or photos of kids with the names of their schools in the background.
That’s not actually true, but the scuttle serves as a good reminder to think twice before downloading new apps.
FaceApp grabs a photo only if you specifically select it to see your face change, security researcher and Guardian Firewall CEO Will Strafach said.
The confusion comes from an iPhone feature that shows your photo library within the app. It is an Apple feature that lets you select a photo but doesn’t give the app full access to the library, even though it may appear that way.
You have the option of granting access to your entire photo library, but even then, there is no evidence the app is uploading anything other than the photo selected.
“I’m always looking for privacy concerns,” said Strafach. “When it’s not happening, it’s not happening.”
There’s a version of FaceApp for Android, but those phones don’t tap libraries the same way.