FaceApp

FaceApp: the New App Amidst the Storm of Controversies
Introduction:
#Faceappchallenge is the new maniac among the smart-phone users that has taken over almost all the
social-media platforms. The challenge revolves around installing a free face editing app named Faceapp,
applying one of its features to age your face digitally & post them on social media such as Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
If you have scrolled your social-media accounts recently, you must have observed your friends/relatives
uploading pictures of their older & younger self.
This new app cherished immense popularity among the Android & iOS Users last week. It transcended
Apple App Store’s top charts as the most downloaded app, leaving behind Whatsapp & Facebook. The
number of users of this new face app has crossed over 80 millions.
Faceapp’s CEO, Yaroslav Goncharov was overwhelmed with joy to announce the success this face filter
app achieved in such a short span. Prompted with the success, Yaroslav posted on Facebook: “Change,
it’s nice”.
What Is FaceApp?
Developed in 2017 by Wireless Lab, a Russia-based company, FaceApp is a funny face app that uses
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modify your images that you upload to the app. The app enables you to age
yourself, swap gender & transform yourself in to a hit man (a bald version of yourself).
During the year of its launch, this face exchange app faced wide reproof for incorporating “racist” selfiefilters – that facilitated the users to brighten their skin tones.
Another storm of outrage was kindled against FaceApp a few months later, after it launched an array of
“ethnicity filters”. The ethnicity filters allowed users to modify their images to appear “Asian”, “India” or
“black”.
Though these features were introduced with good intentions, people took them to the road leading to
racism.
The Users Say about FaceAppWhile this free face editing app is cherishing the popularity it gained last week, a rumor professed that the
app access user photos from the gallery & upload them to the FaceApp’s server without the user’s
consent.
Joshua Nozzi, a software developer, warned the users to be careful while using FaceApp. The warning
was picked up by the social media outlets immediately & user’s privacy issues began to mount.
The face app security concerns got kindled when many of the FaceApp users began to point out that
FaceApp is a Russian App.
On 17th July 2019, the Democratic National Committee of the United States urged 2020 Presidential
Campaigns to delete the FaceApp immediately as it is still vague what the Russian-owned app is doing
with the user’s data & uploaded images.
Following this notice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been asked to initiate an investigation
against the FaceApp as it could pose national security & personal data risks for millions of U.S. citizens.
Another face app security concern sprang up when the iOS Users claimed FaceApp’s iOS Version to
override the permissions given by the user. The users stated they were able to select & upload a photo to
the app-despite denying its access to their camera roll.
While no strong evidence confirms these claims, some of the users are using Twitter to voice their
concerns.
Elizabeth Potts, a Twitter user, highlighted privacy concerns associated with the free face editing app. She
said that by uploading the images to FaceApp, users give the developers access to their images, name &
likeness. To support her say, she uploaded a screenshot of the FaceApp’s User Agreement.
Many Twitter users came around, supported her say & followed the string of Elizabeth's tweet. They said
that FaceApp may be capturing some of the private data along with the faces as the usage of the data
gathered by the App has not been made clear in the privacy policies.
FaceApp’s response to the Privacy Concerns
In response to the claims & privacy concerns raised by the users, FaceApp provided a few points to
explain the basics of the data usage1). It said the photo-processing at FaceApp is carried out on the cloud. The image selected by the user for
editing is only uploaded. The FaceApp never accesses other images on the user’s device.
2). The main reason behind storing an uploaded photo in the cloud is to maintain the performance &
traffic. The FaceApp ensures that no image is uploaded repeatedly for every edit operation. The FaceApp
further stated that the uploaded image is deleted within 48 hours from the upload date.
3). All the FaceApp features can be accessed by the user without logging in, as a result, 99% of the users
do not bother to login to edit their photos. Therefore, the chance of FaceApp to steal data of the user is
negligible.
4). FaceApp stated that it does not sell or share user data to the third parties.
5). The user data is not transferred to Russia, though the core Research & Development Team of FaceApp
is located in Russia.
To Upload or Not Upload?
The evidences found so far don’t suggest FaceApp is stealing the pictures & forwarding them to the
Russian government. Now, the choice of uploading the images on the FaceApp rests in your hands.
In addition to that, you are advised to be vigilant while uploading content/images to the Apps & think
about the implications of giving up your data.
Stay aware of the permissions you grant to the Applications while installing. Avoid installing the apps
that asks for permissions beyond their usage.
Resource Link : https://www.virusremovalguidelines.com/news/faceapp-the-new-app-amidst-thestorm-of-controversies