In this day and age, we've become attached to a somewhat trivial photo that conveys who we are - the selfie.
(Example of a selfie - courtesy of my Facebook profile image)
It's something we can't really escape from, as most of us typically have cameras built-in to some of the products we use day by day, such as a smartphone or laptop. Most of the time we take them as a small memento of where we've been or what we are currently doing at the moment; and then we share about these experiences over social media.
Not that there's anything wrong with this practice - it's usually in the name of fun and keeping a digital keepsake of what we do in our lives. This is something I doubt will ever leave our culture, now that it's become so integrated to how we interact with mobile technology that incorporates cameras.
Now, why am I writing about this topic? Because last week as I was minding my business on my iPhone 5, a news article was brought to my attention from the News app, written about one of the more recent fads that's been driven by the selfie craze, Faceapp. This new application, currently available on iPhone's and developed by Wireless Lab OOO is a rather interesting take on the selfie trend - you take a photo of yourself, and then you pick from a variety of effects so that the artificial intelligence (a so-called 'Neural Network) tools can then recreate this image and essentially form a new 'you' with a variety of effects, such as what you'd look like when you're older, or what if you were of the opposite sex.
(Examples of me using this app for the first (and only) time of using Faceapp for myself to see what the results are like)
So why was this app brought to my attention thanks to the ABC's article? Well, as explored by Jake Sturmer and Will Ockenden, Faceapp might actually have some privacy issues that could put you at risk.
One concern that is brought up is the ever-important issue of privacy - we live in an information society where there is value in any kind of digital information, from e-mail addresses, passwords, and even the pictures that we take. Yes, even these selfies have information about ourselves. This information is listed in somewhat alarming detail on what kinds of data the Faceapp developers receive about yourselves, as listed on their own privacy policy under section 1 "Information we Collect." This includes 'device identifiers' that lets them know what type of device you are using the software from, as well as collecting information based on what kinds of data is on your device, so you could receive third-party ads based on what you've been browsing, or content you're not interested in at all.
Other critics of the app from this article cite that the information that you upload through this service may end up being anywhere but where it first began, as the lawyer Michael Bradley wrote in response to this in the very same article:
"Anyone who has placed their face online in conjunction with their name and other identifying information... is already plenty vulnerable to being digitally captured for future facial recognition uses."
This is just one critics' voice against this new app that drives on the hype of the selfie. You may not particularly care about how they'll be using your selfies and how you mess around with them, but there is a very good likelihood that if you're not careful with managing of your information like this, it may not be hard for someone to construct a false ID card without your knowledge and assuming your identity. So as always when you consider putting your personal information up on the web, please be mindful and thoughtful as to what sort of content you're uploading in the first place.
James Byron
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