- On this page:
- Security And Privacy Concerns
- It’s Not Just FaceApp, It’s All Of Them
- Be Aware, Be Cautious & Be Safe
Security and Privacy Concerns
Despite the fiasco that started with this post, later covered by publishers like TechCrunch, Forbes and 9 to 5Mac, its dismissal does not mean that users should not be wary of such applications, and other tech platforms that have the potential for misuse.
In response to security and political concerns, it has been clarified by that FaceApp stores and processes data on its servers without sending any of it to its central R&D department in Russia. This allows for the reduction of bandwidth, in case multiple filters are applied, and photos are also deleted within four hours, according to FaceApp, to ensure servers are not overburdened by data.
FaceApp also suggested that users can take control, and have a way to get their data deleted, by reporting a privacy bug on the application. According to iOS’ regulations, FaceApp’s behavior is completely legal, allowing users to limit the application’s access only to the photos they select to edit, protecting their entire gallery from exposure.
It’s Not Just FaceApp, It’s All of Them
One of the key security concerns was regarding the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy that these platforms bind themselves to. A part of this section highlights, “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.”
While this may sound like an absolute cause for concern and distrust towards the application and its founders, understanding that this issue expands beyond FaceApp to other tech leaders in the industry, is equally important.
Notice how similar, for instance, Facebook’s Terms and Conditions are:
“when you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos or videos) on or in connection with our Products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings).”
As noted by Ad Week reporter, Shoshana Wodinsky, FaceApp sends data to DoubleClick, the Google-owned ad company.
Be Aware, Be Cautious & Be Safe
From what we gather, there isn’t need to be especially wary of FaceApp, but there is a need to be wary of all apps that are given similar permission to access your gallery or any other part of your device. There is a possibility and impending risk for all such platforms to tap into facial recognition and image analytics software. This data is valuable and there is an urgent need to seriously consider who to grant access to your information.
Organizations and governments have been pushing for stricter regulation of data in the US and across the EU for all the right reasons, which is something users across the internet should bear in their mind, before accepting and using applications on their own.
