FaceApp can do everything and there is no doubt that it is fun. However, there are currently intensive discussions regarding data protection.
The App Is Currently Going Viral
Under the hashtag FaceAppChallenge many, including celebrities post time photos. What will we look like in 20 years? However, data from the app flows to the server of the operator of the offer. Now there are many problems with this. They fear that we will all be spied on. Accordingly, FaceApp is no more dangerous or questionable than uploading photos to Facebook. Because Facebook and Twitter have much more data from us – not that that would be a good thing. If you don’t want to take any risks, you should stay away from FaceApp – but also from all other services that work in a similar way. They also continuously deliver data in the cloud.
How Is The Data Used?
The most likely thing you can do with portrait data is to train facial recognition algorithms. If this is the goal of FaceApp, they would not be alone, just another company that practices this. The Guardian reports that Google used about 9 million profile pictures to train facial recognition algorithms, plus additional YouTube videos that were uploaded to the Mannequin Challenge. Facebook used the profile pictures of many users for the same purpose.
Several security experts examined the app and were unable to identify any unusual data flows. A personal assignment of the pictures to people cannot take place if you do not connect to Facebook for example. The data does not end up in Europe either, but on cloud servers, most of which are located in the USA.
In the sense, FaceApp is just another app that you give data – in this case photos. With a link to Facebook and Twitter, it would also be possible to link the images to other data. At least the theoretical possibilities, but Facebook alone gives so much data, photos and videos that a selfie with FaceApp is more of a drop in the bucket. You have to be aware that every app and every platform can theoretically trade with the data of the users. If you value privacy, you should stay away from various apps and platforms, whether it is Facebook or FaceApp.
