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The Face App Rave And Your Privacy.


A throwback photo of when I was clean shaven with beard courtesy of the Face App.

Anytime a trend goes viral on social media, be it #BottleCapChallenge or #MannequinChallenge, someone, somewhere, usually dives DEEP into the Atlantic ocean, in order to share DEEP thoughts as to the redundance of the exercise. Sometimes these 'deep' posts hold valuable nuggets and other times, not so much. I have done this a few times in the past, but today is not my turn and this is not that kind of post!
Some things that happen in this world, are designed to not be deep—they're just for fun, relaxation and entertainment. Looking for the significance in those kind of activities, will be missing the intent. The face app by FaceApp Inc is one such things: its not for taking a picture for your international passport neither does it hold any eternal spiritual significance.
The app had gone viral before in 2017 and it did so again recently with people sharing light hearted pictures of different kinds. As the app went viral, there was a kickback raised from legitimate concerns of invasion of privacy and other related matters.
The concerns are real and here's a few things you can know about the app:
1. The app is not taking your photos to STORE in Russia for some Heineken or condom adverts later in life. Yes, the app does upload your photo and sends it to their computer in Russia for computers working with Artificial Intelligence to process it and produce an altered copy based on the filter you wish to apply. The Founder has expressedly stated, their storage servers are actually in the USA and Australia. No one is storing your pictures in Russia. Thanks to James Bond and other American movies, we can't trust the Russians. Putin too!
2. Though the terms and conditions of using the app is such that the company has irrevocable rights to use your photo as they see fit, with no royalties to you, the company has stated that it neither shares or sells users data to any third parties.
3. The app is not the anti-Christ. Its is not a one-way ticket to hell fire. If you decided to, you can, in theory, delete your photo from their server databases (there's a procedure for that on the app; check the first comment below). Also, though in theory they have access to ALL your photos, the only photos uploaded are the ones being processed (edited). That asides, processed photos, by the founder's admission, are deleted from the server after 48 hours. You can also delete the app to end access to your device.
Now, I know that all the above assertions are just words from the FaceApp Inc rep and for all we know they could be covertly stealing IDs and just pacifying the public. The thing is, at some point, we all have to trust someone: like we trust the manufacturers of many products we use daily that what they pasted on the their products as safe constituents, is actually what is sold.
So, while the panic that ensued has cogent points on privacy and security, the bloated paranoia is a tad hyped. Many other apps on your phone have such access to your info and privacy. While we may have our concerns about Russia being the host country, one can navigate safely.
This does not cover the fact that, it may not have been the best move to quickly jump on the exciting trend without caution; and that reading terms and conditions is more important than we would like to think. But if I was to tell someone about the app today, I'd say; 'It's a good app with some cool features but using it includes the possibility of your image being used in any part of the world for whatever those who have it decide to. That's a disclaimer. This is exactly what we do with even good things as certain drugs; we tell the side effects. Then if a person still wants to go ahead and use it, they're free to and informed of possibilities.
All I've been trying to say about the app is this: using it requires you give electronic consent of irrevocable rights to the company to use your image. But the company has said they're not using that right to trade with your image in any form. It's a matter of trust at the core. Also that this incident has shown us the relevance of reading terms and conditions. Finally, that the app is primarily for fun and entertainment; it has other fun filters to play around with apart from the aging filter (the photo below was taken when I was beardless, but the app did a pretty good job giving me a beard that kind of eerily matches one I spot presently).
To read a bit more on the FaceApp Inc response to the privacy issues raised, see the Forbes article below in the first comment.

Happy Weekend, friends!

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