You must have already heard about FaceApp and the viral hashtag #faceappchallenge. This is a challenge where you need to post your pictures of how you will look old on socials. The images will be generated by the viral app, FaceApp, once you upload your photos or selfies.
Now, the app is currently trending and more than 150 million people have already uploaded their photos on this app. Along with that, the app currently has data such as names and photos of all these users too.
Now, here’s the worrying part regarding FaceApp which is its privacy policy. Before downloading FaceApp or uploading a selfie on the app, do read the privacy policy of this app once. Well, we will do that job easy for you as we have gone through FaceApp’s privacy policy. And the word that came out of my mind when I read the privacy policy was that its scary.
First of all, FaceApp’s privacy policy states that:
You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your [username], location or profile photo) will be visible to the public.
This shows that FaceApp now owns a license to use your photos in whatever way they want. While FaceApp stores its data on Amazon servers in America, the data can be used in Russia where the app developers are from. Also, you need to give the app permission for accessing your photos and refreshing in the background as well.
While FaceApp says that “we will not rent or sell your information to third parties outside FaceApp”, they do reveal that the photos will be shared with “third-party advertising partners” for targeted ads. If you are fine with these things, you are free to use the app. However, those who are not should not even install this app.