Maya Hall
Lantern Staff
People love filters. They’re fun, different and humorous, which is why FaceApp became very popular so quickly. FaceApp uses artificial intelligence to create realistic-looking filters to add to photos, such as the widely used aging filter, creating the newest form of entertainment for people on social media. But when word got out that it’s owned by a Russian company that supposedly uses your photos without your permission, people went crazy.
Users of the app took to social media to spread around what the app was really doing and how it affects people’s online privacy. When Googled, one of the first things you can find out about FaceApp is that it is indeed owned and created by a Russian company. People all over social media were in a frenzy about their privacy when using the app based off of a circulating speculation online, when a mere Google search could have given them all of the information anyway.
The privacy terms on the FaceApp website stated, “We use commercially reasonable safeguards to help keep the information collected through the Service secure and take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. However, FaceApp cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to FaceApp or guarantee that information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.”
They also add in regard to sharing your photos from the app onto other social media platforms, “Please do your part to help us. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information, and for controlling access to emails between you and FaceApp, at all times. Your privacy settings may also be affected by changes the social media services you connect to FaceApp make to their services. We are not responsible for the functionality, privacy or security measures of any other organization.”
This means that people are responsible for their own safety when using the app and when posting material to other social media platforms. If more people read the terms of agreement and privacy policies before setting up accounts online, they wouldn’t be as upset when rumors go around about how safe their online privacy really is. Though the policies may be a drag to read, it would be smart to educate yourself on them. People also should not rely on information stemming from other people on the internet, most of which are just unreliable and share anything they hear elsewhere. If you are really concerned about your safety online, then you should turn to the privacy policies listed by the app, not to Twitter.