FaceApp, an app which can generate highly realistic transformations of faces in photographs, has gone viral all over social media after people began posting photos of their “older selves,” but now privacy experts are warning users that there could be a data security risk. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has now asked the FBI and Federal Trade Commission to begin a national security and privacy investigation into the company. He posted his request on twitter. BIG: Share if you used #FaceApp: The @FBI & @FTC must look into the national security & privacy risks now Because millions of Americans have used it It's owned by a Russia-based company And users are required to provide full, irrevocable access to their personal photos & data pic.twitter.com/cejLLwBQcr — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 18, 2019 The Russian startup Wireless Lab owns the popular app and uses artificial intelligence to adjust the photos uploaded into the system. The app went viral this week after celebrities and other users began posting edited photos from the app on social media. View this post on Instagram When you take a trip to the Year 3000. A post shared by Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) on Jul 16, 2019 at 2:38pm PDT According to Fox Business, data privacy experts said that FaceApp terms of service give the startup the rights to “any uploaded photos, including for potential commercial use, and raised questions about how FaceApp uses and stores data.” 'People are right to be alarmed by terms of use like the one FaceApp has — as they should be with similar apps,' Privacy International, a UK based charity, said in a blog post. 'It is not clear how FaceApp stores, uses, or manipulates peoples' data, including the detailed biometric maps of their faces, and this could change over time as profit incentives and technologies change.' You can find the app in the Apple App Store and on Google Play store. Reuters contributed to this story.
