Is FaceApp Really a Threat to Our Privacy?

FaceApp has recently taken the internet by storm as people all over the world have begun uploading pictures of what they might look like in 10-20 years’ time onto social media, with celebrities such as Fahad Mustafa and Ahmed Ali Butt also uploading their own versions on Instagram.

The app uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) facial recognition software to map out the users features and has recently sparked a controversy about privacy concerns within the 21^st century after developer Joshua Nozzi took to Twitter to declare that the app users terms allow it to directly upload your pictures to the cloud and use them for commercial purposes.

FaceApp Features Concerning Terms Within Its Privacy Policy

FaceApp’s terms of use state explicitly state that users allow it a “royalty-free, worldwide” access to “use, reproduce, and create derivative works from” users pictures. With phrases such as “commercial” and “sub-licensable” also being present alarm bells have gone off in many people’s heads and a large majority have called for an investigation into how the app might be operating.

However, what users need to realize is that this is not the first or the last app they use to feature terms like these. In fact, if you have an account on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or any other social media then you have already signed away a lot of your private details and sensitive information without even knowing it.

Not the Only App to Feature Troubling User Agreements

A researcher at an anti-virus company Check Point stated that “We have found nothing out of the ordinary in this app”. FaceApp also went on to clarify that the app does not upload all your pictures just the ones you have selected for editing and many of those are deleted after 48 hours. Furthermore, FaceApp stated that 99% of users do not log in to the app hence their data remains unavailable making it no different than any other photo-editing software.

In conclusion, all the concerns over the app’s policies and terms are valid and help to raise a much bigger question of how and if we can truly protect our private information in the modern world.

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