If something seems too good to be true, it probably is!
Right now, if you scroll down your news feed, every other post is a photo made with FaceApp transforming your friend to a senior citizen. Everyone is doing it. Celebrities, politicians, your neighbor, and coworkers. Lots of people are downloading the FaceApp and turning themselves into an old person. Even Lebron James has taken part in this internet craze. But has anyone actually taken the time to read through the fine print? It is a free app and seems relatively safe, right?
Here are a few things you should know when you are you using this FaceApp. This app is owned by a company in Russia. It uses artificial intelligence to change the appearance of your photos. And according to the terms and privacy agreement, the app has the right to use your photos and could have access to all of your photos. In order for the app to change your photo’s appearance, you have to upload to its database. The photo is then stored on a server belonging to FaceApp. Experts are not exactly certain if the app actually can access all or any unauthorized information on your phone. But just to be safe, many experts have been issuing warnings to avoid using this app altogether. This is because very little is know about the Russian-based company and many experts just aren’t sure how the app works.
This could be just a few computer programmers getting paranoid, but as with anything free you have to question, besides publicity, what does the developer of the app get in return. Our photos, our data? Possibly. You never know. According to experts, it is a security risk. And sure, it is tempting. It is a struggle. Every time I see someone post the results of a quiz they took, I too, am conflicted. Should I risk my social media information just to find out what type of princess I was in a past life? As with anything, as boring as it may be, it is always a good idea to read the privacy statement.
