The IT Nerd

There’s a new app that is making waves called FaceApp. It’s available for iOS and Android, and it uses neural network technology to automatically generate highly realistic transformations of faces in photographs.The app can transform a face to make it smile, look younger, look older, or even change gender. Now it’s been around for a while, but has gone viral recently due to the addition of some new filters. But I would say don’t use it. Don’t go near it. Avoid it like it has the plague.

Why? Well, according to the Terms of Service laid out by FaceApp, users own all their own content. But when you dig deeper, they don’t own their own content. Here’s a link to their Terms Of Service where you will find this under section 5:

Our Services may allow you and other users to create, post, store and share content, including messages, text, photos, videos, software and other materials (collectively, “User Content”). User Content does not include user-generated filters. Except for the license you grant below, you retain all rights in and to your User Content, as between you and FaceApp. Further, FaceApp does not claim ownership of any User Content that you post on or through the Services.

You grant FaceApp 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. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our 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.

You grant FaceApp consent to use the User Content, regardless of whether it includes an individual’s name, likeness, voice or persona, sufficient to indicate the individual’s identity. By using the Services, you agree that the User Content may be used for commercial purposes. You further acknowledge that FaceApp’s use of the User Content for commercial purposes will not result in any injury to you or to any person you authorized to act on its behalf. You acknowledge that some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions, and you hereby agree that FaceApp may place such advertising and promotions on the Services or on, about, or in conjunction with your User Content. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising and promotions are subject to change without specific notice to you. You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such.

You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the User Content modified by you on or through the Services or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licenses set forth in these Terms; (ii) you agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owed by reason of User Content you stylize on or through the Services; and (iii) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms in your jurisdiction.

You may not create, post, store or share any User Content that violates these Terms or for which you do not have all the rights necessary to grant us the license described above. Although we have no obligation to screen, edit or monitor User Content, we may delete or remove User Content at any time and for any reason.

User Content removed from the Services may continue to be stored by FaceApp, including, without limitation, in order to comply with certain legal obligations. FaceApp is not a backup service and you agree that you will not rely on the Services for the purposes of User Content backup or storage. FaceApp will not be liable to you for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Services, or the loss of any User Content.

So in short, if you make something in FaceApp, FaceApp can do whatever it wants with what you’ve made. And they don’t have to pay you for it even if they make money off of it. And they can keep the images for as long as they want. And even if you delete them off the service.

#EpicFail

This is incredibly concerning due to the fact that this company wants to do whatever it wants with your content which 1000% wrong. If the bad press that this company is getting doesn’t convince them to change course on this, then perhaps they need to pulled in front of lawmakers to explain themselves as this is unacceptable. Until that happens, I would strongly suggest that you avoid this app.

This entry was posted on July 17, 2019 at 10:12 am and is filed under Commentary with tags FaceApp, Privacy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.