FaceApp is going viral once more in various social media circles, with users voluntarily uploading their photos on the app to see what they would look like when they were a few years younger, become a man or a woman and when they become old.
Per a report, FaceApp uses sophisticated artificial intelligence tools and photos that are actually run on servers, so users are required to "give permission" for the developers to use their photos. However, some experts are saying that this type of app could be dangerous and could pose a security risk.
"You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you," a portion of the terms of FaceApp read.
In hindsight, this could mean that users may initially believe that photos will be used exclusively by the uploader but in reality, the license actually means the company could use them for various public purposes later on.
What's more, the policy of using the app states that it can actually collect and store information from your mobile device and use it in the future for marketing purposes. If that's not alarming, there is little information known regarding the developers of the app, except that they are from Russia.
Because of this, some people are warning others before using the app. Those with iOS devices are said to be especially susceptible to a security breach because the app is said to be "taking advantage" of a function related to the iOS software which lets photos taken by the phone instantly upload to the cloud.
As it is, FaceApp and its terms are a bit old and have been around since 2017. The app recently went viral because noted celebrities posted photos of themselves using it. These included Drake, the Jonas Brothers, Sam Smith, Piers Morgan and even celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, among others.
Per CNN, the FaceApp just shows that when it comes to our digital privacy, not a lot of people actually take it seriously.
This article was first published in IBTimes US. Permission required for reproduction.
