FaceApp is back circulating on social networks, yet again, after the free launch of the “gender swap” filter.
This new craze even generated the hashtag “FaceAppChallenge” and received hundreds of thousands of shares on Facebook and Instagram, and as a result, concerns about the security of the facial recognition application and the risks of sharing information and privacy reasons have also been raised.
Photo via Shutterstock
Yeo Siang Tiong, General Manager for Southeast Asia at Kaspersky said, “Being isolated and stuck at home during the pandemic has prompted people to spend more time on social media than ever before. Keeping themselves updated with news and connecting with friends and families are among the top reasons. But people have also been turning to social media to deal with stress and anxiety.”
He also urged social media users to pay strict attention to how much of their private information will be used and shared by such apps to avoid any risk, “sharing photos and videos using apps that add filters either by swapping genders and looking older are now back in vogue. There is no harm in using these apps, but users must be careful.”
Fabio Assolini, senior security analyst at Kaspersky, assures that the application does not contain any malicious elements, however, since facial recognition is a technology used mainly for password authentication, the user must be very careful when sharing their image with third parties application, "We have to treat these new forms of authentication as passwords, as any widely available facial recognition system can end up being used for both good and bad."
So, before joining the latest social media challenge, users should be aware of the security of the app and download it only from official stores, and make sure to read the privacy terms of the applications to understand what rights and types of access are being requested.
If you're planning on downloading or using FaceApp, you have got to watch this first! #FaceApp #privacy
Posted by Kaspersky on Thursday, July 18, 2019
Before downloading the FaceApp application, make sure you:
Check whether the app is reliable and is downloaded from official websites
Read the privacy terms to understand what information is being requested
Treat facial recognition like a password - don't use it everywhere
Always check the permissions being requested, such as the login associated with an existing account in a certain social network.
Be sure to keep these basic safety rules in mind and you’ll avoid many of the nasty surprises that may be lurking online...
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
