Chinese face-swapping app Zao ignites privacy concerns after going viral
ZAO, a Chinese face-swapping app went viral on the internet on Friday when a user shared a video of himself in which he swapped his face with popular actor Leonardo De Caprio in a video. In no time, the video earned many views and made the app a popular name among the users. Over the weekend, there were millions of downloads of the app. However, just when everyone was enjoying the app, it drew attention over privacy concerns.
The issue raised by some of the users included how artificial intelligence (AI) technologies bring new concerns surrounding identity verification. For the unversed, ZAO users after downloading the app, sign-up using their phone number and upload images of their face present in their smartphones. Then, they can choose from a variety of videos of celebrities on which they can swap their faces and then they can share it with the world.
As of September 1, App Annie, a firm which tracks app downloads all over the world, stated that ZAO was the most downloaded free app in China’s IOS App Store. It also stated that ZAO's servers nearly crashed due to the surge in traffic
Also read: Google's Privacy Sandbox to protect users' privacy on web
Soon after the app went viral, some users complained about the privacy policies of the app and even stated that it can endanger their identity. One of the sections that ignited privacy concerns in the ZAO app stated that by sharing their pictures on the app, users are agreeing to surrender the intellectual property rights to their face and are permitting the ZAO app to use their identity for promotional purposes. As the privacy concerns faced more attention, netizens urged ZAO to clear all the data that has been collected, as well as the dynamic [facial] recognition data.
Answering the concerns of the netizens, Zao stated on Weibo that it would address those concerns. "We thoroughly understand the anxiety people have towards privacy concerns," the company said. "We have received the questions you have sent us. We will correct the areas we have not considered and require some time."
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