Is FaceApp Safe to Use? Read How Does This App Work?

FaceApp is a mobile application developed by Russian company called Wireless Lab for iOS and Android. It uses neural network technology to automatically generate highly realistic transformations of faces in photographs. The application can transform a face to make it smile, look younger, look older, add beards, hair colour, and swap genders among other transformation. This app was launched on January 2017 for iOS and in February 2017 for Android.

In the spirit of the face app challenge, people around the globe are sharing photos of themselves looking much older than they are, and it’s the work of the FaceApp which presents an image of what you might look like 10 or more years older.

How does FaceApp work?

The Application uses neural networks. It is a type of artificial intelligence to make the facial transformations. It can use photos from your library or alternative sources, users can also snap a photo within the app. If you have too many pictures in your gallery, the app will scan your photo library and pull out only the photos that feature faces or are perfect for transformations. You can then save the edited image and post it on social media like facebook, whatsapp, twitter, instagram etc.

Is FaceApp free?

Yes, FaceApp is free but it comes with some advanced option of purchasing a premium service that will cost around $3.99 or £3.22 or around 269 rupees. After paying this amount, ad-removal and the ability to edit multiple faces will be accessible.

Is this app safe to use?

Some users have raised questions on privacy concern about FaceApp. They said that Faceapp is able to access their entire gallery and not just the images they choose to upload to the app. Though, FaceApp’s privacy statement is confusingly indetermined, saying that they “may share User Content and your information with businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that FaceApp is.”

However, FaceApp is yet to clarify its privacy policy, but if you’re concerned about this, there is an option in the app which denies the app access to your photos, and grants permission to use your camera. Earlier in 2017, FaceApp was forced to remove filter which allowed users to change their ethnicity, with many calling the app out as racist.

Where can you find the App?

You can find this app on Google Play and the Apple App store.