So TikTok, for example, will ask for permission to use your camera for you to record a video. Why Do Face-Transforming Apps Need Your Data?Īpps need access to data so they can provide the services they advertise. Five out of eight body-editing apps are made by China-based companies.Google-owned app Snapseed only deletes user photos after a user files a request.Considered a “Russian app,” FaceApp use has been warned against by the FBI.TikTok collects data across all eight categories, while Snapchat collects all but a user’s financial info.40% of the apps collected user content despite being mainly photo-editing and filter apps.Of the forty apps we studied, 68% collected location data from their users.25% of the apps we studied were made by companies based in China, while 30% were made by companies based in the United States.None of the apps claim to hold the right to sell user-uploaded pictures, although there are apps whose privacy policies don’t state whether or not they do.Most face-transforming apps will only retain your pictures until they are processed, after which the photos are allegedly deleted.Aging apps like Oldify and InPhoto collect the most data, including app usage data, financial info, and social media info.38 out of 40 apps will ask for data that isn’t essential to the services they provide.While face-transforming trends seem harmless, a large number of popular apps we use actually collect an alarming amount of data - and it’s unclear how that data is being used.įor this article, we took a look at the privacy policies of the most downloaded face-transforming apps on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. If the use of these apps is so widespread, should we even still worry about our data? After all, these apps are being used by everyone, from Brie Larson to your co-workers. When it comes to playing around with Oldify or Facetune, it may be tempting not to care about your data security. But just how safe is your data in the hands of these apps? Almost everyone has used a face-transforming app at least once, from predicting how they’ll look in 20 years to touching up a selfie before posting it on Instagram.
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