First the facts: yes FaceApp is made by a Russian developer, and yes your image is stored on its servers while you apply the filters. But this is no need to panic. You’ve probably signed away your likeness and selfies on other apps in the past and shouldn’t be too bothered when your face appears on the side of a bus in a hemorrhoid cream ad.
Get off my lawn. #FaceApp pic.twitter.com/4KoRzhYTfK
— Lindsey Schutters (@SharpSchutters) July 17, 2019
I enjoy shared cultural moments that consume social media. We should all have a chance to get lost in the magic of technology without having the overwhelming paranoia of these cynical times ruin our fun.
So yes, make yourself look old, or young, or grow a beard for once in your life. Do it because it’s fun and largely harmless. If you’re gonna go down the rabbit hole of believing that Russians are going to rig the next election and plunge the country into trillions in debt on some dodgy nuclear power plant deal that will never see the light of day because the lights are all out and the streets are running with the blood of the innocents, then you shouldn’t be using a smartphone in the first place.
As a safety precaution, though, restrict the app to only use images that you take in the app. Go into the app permissions and revoke access to your gallery. You know, in case you don’t want those nudes on the internet.
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