Read this before using FaceApp — you give up more personal data than you realize on this Russian-made app
FaceApp’s connections to Russia are just one of the many security concerns people should consider before using the popular app
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FaceApp has gone viral again with a feature that makes users look elderly, but experts say it may pose security concernsMarketwatch.com: People are having fun making themselves look older with an app called FaceApp, but they might also be facing a host of cyber-security concerns.
FaceApp, a smartphone app that allows users to apply filters onto selfies they upload, has grown in popularity again thanks to a feature that allows users to make themselves look older.
But cybersecurity experts have raised several red flags about FaceApp. It’s made by a Wireless Lab, a small company based in Russia and, according to its terms and conditions, your photos could be used in unexpected ways.
(The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
“Consumers just think it’s fun and blindly share,” said Robert Siciliano, security awareness expert at Safr.Me. People get to laugh at their photos, he said. In return, however, such apps want a chunk of your data.
Remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal? Many Facebook users unwittingly participated in the “This Is Your Digital Life” personality quiz on the social-media site, not realizing that doing so meant that they allowed third-parties to get access to data from them and their friends.
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The app is available on Apple’s App Store AAPL, -0.56% and Google PlayGOOG, -0.63% GOOGL, -0.58% People around the world have been uploading their “aged” photos to FB, -1.00% Twitter TWTR, -0.76% and Instagram.
“There has been a lot of worry regarding Russian-based companies whose hands are being forced by the Russian government [when] they require a backdoor access to the companies’ data and servers,” Siciliano said.
FaceApp previously achieved popularity (and some criticism) for features that let people makes themselves look like another gender or lighten their skin tone. But the latest ageing filter has gone viral.
The app’s popularity has risen thanks in large part to celebrities, such as rapper Drake and singing group The Jonas Brothers, who have posted selfies they edited with FaceApp to social media.
FaceApp’s connections to Russia are just one of the many security concerns people should consider before using the popular app. READ MORE HERE >>