FaceApp has become popular for its filter to make you look older and if you are one of those who do not read the terms of use and privacy, you may be interested in knowing why it can be dangerous.
Does FaceApp endanger your privacy?
The FaceApp application has become very famous in recent days thanks to its filter to make you look older through facial recognition, a pastime that has conquered many users, including influencers and celebrities such as the soccer player Joaquín.
The members of the musical group Dvicio, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Auronplay, Chicote or Nicky Jam even though it has been available since 2017, although it has improved a lot since then.
Privacy Policy
What at first may have seemed like a simple funny or amusing action has become a concern following an article that questioned FaceApp’s privacy policy, which is quite ambiguous and has not been updated since January 2017.
It is also notable that an application to pass the time through photographs asks you for access to the entire camera roll of your device when on their website they specify that although they cannot sell the photographs used in this app to third parties, they can be transferred to other companies. that are part of the same group as the developer.
In addition to this more than reasonable doubt, the fact that the developer of the application is of Russian origin (a country in which the control of internet data is different) also influences the stir that this viral challenge is creating, despite having its headquarters in the USA.
Such suspicion arises from one of the most notable absences from their privacy policy: what would happen to the data collected if the company were dissolved or sold and from the clause that states that they can transfer user information to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws.
Tips
If you still want to try the application to know how you will look in a few years, we give you a couple of tricks so you don’t have any problems :
- Don’t let the app access your camera roll. When the application asks for permission to access the photos on your device, deny it to prevent all your photos from being compromised, if necessary.
- Use a public photograph. When uploading the photograph that will be facially recognized to return your elderly image, choose one that you do not mind being displayed in a public place.
FaceApp’s response
As a result of all the controversy created around this application, its creators have decided to issue a statement denying some of the issues that most concerned users.
According to the company, even though the R&D department is located in Russia, photos stored in the cloud (which are deleted 48 hours after uploading) do not cross borders.