FaceApp Addresses Privacy Threats

FaceApp – The Viral App Addresses its Privacy Threats

Social Media Stream is going crazy over a photo editing app nowadays. The app is called FaceApp, developed by Russia-based Wireless Lab. Users on different social media platforms are going head over heels about FaceApp. Finding out how you would look in your old age is quite interesting and maybe that is why the users are crazy about this app. The app has influenced so much that it’s also started a new hashtag challenge #AgeChallenge for people across social media platforms. Even the huge international celebrities like Charlie Puth, Drake, Sam Smith, and Gordan Ramsay are following the ongoing challenge.

Using FaceApp Example

Using FaceApp

However, as quickly as FaceApp took the spotlight, many were concerned about its privacy threats. The app uses cloud processing to apply different filters which is the main reason why users are concerned about its privacy threats.

In response to the privacy concerns, FaceApp released a statement where they clarified to users that only the selected photos are transferred to the cloud and most images are deleted from their servers within two days of the upload date.

In the statement, FaceApp mentioned, “Most images are deleted from our servers within 48 hours from the upload date. We accept requests from users for removing all their data from our servers. Our support team is currently overloaded, but these requests have our priority.”

It was also mentioned that it performs most of its photo processing in the cloud, but it doesn’t transfer photos from the phones that haven’t been selected for editing to the cloud. It might store an uploaded photo in the cloud for performance and traffic. The app also noted that all FaceApp features are available to the users without logging in and no data is sold or shared.

Even though FaceApp itself has come up and clarified the concerns, users are still confused about the privacy issues and threats.

This is not the first time that FaceApp has gone viral and faced issues regarding its privacy threats. The app had gone viral when it was first launched, i.e. back in 2017. The app came under fire in 2017 when users were not satisfied with the filters.

The viral FaceApp is available in both Android and iOS.

Have you used FaceApp yet? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.