The latest social media trend to go viral is the face-altering
software FaceApp, which uses a filter to make users look older.
An inspection of FaceApp's terms of service reveals that
users grant FaceApp a "perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive,
royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable" licence to
use their image, name, and other content stored in the App for
commercial purposes (i.e. for advertising) in any medium.
Therefore, FaceApp could place a user's image on a billboard
without having to compensate them. FaceApp is also permitted to
retain the content for as long as they wish, even after the App has
been deleted.
Biometric data such as facial images is personal information,
which is protected by data privacy laws. The terms of use allow
excessive processing of its users' biometric data, which is
alarming.
