Lately, some security problems have arisen with the famous FaceApp application. If you are interested in knowing what those problems are, then right here we will explain why FaceApp is dangerous and we will tell you about the data theft controversy in which it is involved.
Why is FaceApp dangerous?
The famous and world-wide used Russian application FaceApp, has raised a disturbing controversy about whether or not it is safe to use it. In itself, this app is intended to apply filters to the photos that we want, among which the effect to age faces in FaceApp stands out.
Although it is an application that has become a trend in recent days, FaceApp has presented certain problems that disturb the experience of many when using it. The problem lies in the security offered by the terms and conditions of this application.
What worries many users is that because FaceApp’s terms and conditions are extremely open, the developers place very little importance on the safety of their users.
The famous application collects user data that should be kept private and does not give users the opportunity to access this data. This means that the application does not comply with the European GDPR, which is responsible for protecting people’s private information.
What kind of private data does FaceApp store?
It is totally normal for app users to worry about their safety and the complete privacy of any data they may give to FaceApp. If you are one of them, we show you what type of data this application stores:
- Cookies: this information is recorded when entering the web page, not the application.
- Multimedia files: the images without filter are stored in the application, since we can only obtain the already improved photo when using it.
- Statistical data: the information what is the most and least used in the app is stored.
- Metadata: even the smallest action, translated into structured data, is stored in the application.
- Identifier: the application stores data that identifies our device, in order to differentiate it from those of other users.
We see that FaceApp, available in the Google Play Store and App Store, is not very different from other apps in terms of the data it stores. But the problem is that it does not give its own privacy to the information we give it.
Does FaceApp really steal data?
This is one of the biggest concerns of users and, in a certain sense; we can say that the application does take certain data without the consent of its users. The situation is that FaceApp does not ask its users for permission to take the ID of their Android device or to access the phone number.
As we mentioned before, the application asks for this data to identify the device that uses the app. But the app is very clear that it cannot ensure the security of any information we transmit to the app. This can certainly be a problem for FaceApp users, as they can’t be sure what will happen to the data they submit to the app.
Although all these problems are true, the developers of FaceApp assure that all this data is not used for profit.
Furthermore, they claim that their users can feel safe using the app. They also indicate that much of this data can only be collected if you log in to the app to use it, which very few people do.
If you are worried, we tell you that there are other applications like FaceApp to change your face and add other fun filters, which includes videos. In fact, you can even use After Effects to do the same video effects as FaceApp.
We encourage you to make the decision that you think is convenient when downloading the application. If you already have it on your mobile, in view of the above, you may want to eliminate FaceApp forever; you are within your rights.
Now that you know why FaceApp is considered dangerous, we hope you will decide whether or not to use this famous application.
