Technology May 6, 2020
Some privacy please.
FaceApp. An app designed to take a photo and make adjustments to project what an individual will look like in the future.
Facebook. A social media site where users can share life updates and photos with their “friends.”
Two different entities, correct? So, two separate privacy concerns, right? Facebook and FaceApp privacy are more similar than you would expect. We’re digging into privacy concerns regarding FaceApp and Facebook to give you the details of both app terms of use.
In January 2017, FaceApp was released for both iOS and Android. Originally, the app drew a lot of attention but quickly lost popularity thereafter. However, the fad is back. The number of app downloads has skyrocketed. Millions of people, even celebrities, are using the app to transform their faces today to their face in 50 years. According to an article from Forbes, there are reportedly more than 150 million FaceApp users today.
According to the FaceApp terms of use, “When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through [their] Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your [username], location or profile photo) will be visible to the public.”
Likewise, when you download, open, and allow the app to access your camera roll, you surrender your privacy. The app can then keep the photos on their cloud for as long as they like with full access and ownership. In the terms of use, the company claims that “most” of the photos are deleted from the cloud after 48 hours. So, what happens to those photos that don’t get deleted? Where do they go? After you accepted the terms and conditions, the company has all access and the right to do anything with your photos.
Throughout the years, we’ve realized just how much information we share with Facebook, who then shares the information with partners. And, although Facebook is one of the prominent social media platforms today, the company has encountered several privacy complaints.
Facebook specifically uses your data to personalize your feed. According to the Facebook terms of service, “when you share, post, or upload content like photos or videos you grant [Facebook] 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.”
In other words, when you share content on Facebook, the app has your permission to store, copy, and share it with service providers or other third parties. Sound familiar to FaceApp privacy?
Looking at the larger picture, Facebook is a mega-platform with over 2 billion users. In comparison, FaceApp only has 150 million downloads. Facebook user post content with others to share updates of their lives; while, FaceApp allows users to visualize themselves in 50 years.
Two entirely different entities, but very similar terms of use. So, should we be concerned? Absolutely. If an app that distorts a picture has the same terms as a platform built on the idea of sharing content and information, there’s an issue. When we make an account on Facebook, we realize that we are agreeing to share out information to our “friends” and the public.
However, when you download FaceApp, you expect the app to transform a photo without giving all your privacy and photo rights away. Except, you download the app and unconsciously agree to the company’s stringent terms of use.
As technology continues to develop and we delve further into the digital age, privacy concerns increase. We love to keep friends and family updated on our lives, but what if it’s not just our friends and family who can view the content? Every day, we subconsciously release personal data on the web. Typically, we have little to no idea what terms we agree to and who can view our content. If we want to limit privacy scandals, we need to be more aware of where we share our personal information and who we share those details with.
