An image distortion app called FaceApp has been making buzz on social media recently and a lot of people are jumping on the trend by using the ‘old age’ filter to simulate what they’ll look like in their old age. It’s all fun and seemingly harmless, but it goes beyond just transforming your image.
The policy of the app developed in Russia has raised some security concerns among some people who are of the opinion that the app could be invading the users’ privacy or misusing their data.
FaceApp emphatically said that their “services may allow you and other users to create, post, store and share content including messages, text, photos, videos, software and other materials”.
However, it clarified that while FaceApp does not claim ownership of any user’s content, it can use your identity and information as they want in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you. That’s the part of the policy that most people believe is shady as the users’ data can be sold or exchanged in the process.
What this means is that they can access and use your data in whatever way they deem fit in perpetuity, without any compensation to you.
Although FaceApp has responded to the privacy concerns by saying it only stores the photos that users upload to its cloud for a short period of time, here are some important precautions to take so as not to give away vital information about yourself to the app.
- Use an unofficial email while signing up for the app
- Ensure you use a screen name to sign up
- Don’t give too much access like uploading all your gallery to the app
- Don’t link the app to your social media accounts
- Remember to log out of the app after use
- Uninstall the app from your phone once you’re done with it.
If possible, stay away from using the app entirely, but if that’s too much to ask, we believe that the precautions above will keep you as safe as possible.