If you’ve ever wondered what you’ll look like when you’re older, you’re in luck.
There’s an app for that.
FaceApp, which first hit the tech scene about two years ago, has resurfaced this week and gone viral again after a new feature was added that allows you to age yourself to look older and younger.
The new feature has created a “challenge” people are participating in and posting their aging photos on social media.
Even Pittsburghers have participated, including the Steelers.
Black & Gold forever ?#FaceApp | #AgeChallenge pic.twitter.com/TGvqxd65Ub
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 17, 2019
.@edgarsnyder before faceapp & Edgar Snyder after faceapp. The man doesn’t age. #legend #Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/RTUQHwGmya
— Andrew Kurzawski MDiv CPT (@CoachKurzawski) July 17, 2019
Lots of celebrities also go in on the challenge, many poking fun at themselves.
Me hosting #MasterChef Season 50......#faceapp pic.twitter.com/uKnfxUpC1D
— Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) July 16, 2019
When you take a trip to the Year 3000. pic.twitter.com/O9Dxpwj6ex
— Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) July 16, 2019
While many people are just having some fun by participating in the challenge, some people are questioning the safety of it. FaceApp is a Russia startup with the core of its R&D team based in Russia but the company’s founder told Tech Crunch that no user data is transferred to Russia and that the app uses Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud for its cloud processing.
Tech Crunch also points out that some users are concerned about whether the app accesses and uploads your camera roll to its server. They reported they found no evidence of this and neither did security researchers.
But users should be cautious about including sensitive information, like banking information, in any of the photos used in the app. With a scraper and optical character recognition tech, someone could glean huge amounts of information beyond just photos.
Experts in each report caution users to be extra vigilant about the apps they use and the permission hey give those apps if they have concerns over privacy.
