Zao, a free face-swapping app on the iOS that has risen quickly to the top of China’s App Store rankings is facing privacy concerns over its nature and policies.
Users of the app upload an image of their face using their smartphone and sign up with their phone number. They can then select from celebrity videos where they can change the faces to that of theirs, then share it.
Since the face swap app went viral, some users are voicing concerns over its terms and conditions, one of which is that the user agrees to surrender their faces’ intellectual rights and allow Zao to use their photos for marketing reasons.
Zao has released a statement regarding the issue, saying that they understand the user’s concerns about the app’s privacy and promise immediate action and correction.
A similar issue has been raised about FaceApp, a software that shows users what they’d look like if they were older or younger. The developer claimed that most photos were deleted in 48 hours.