The FBI has issued a warning against FaceApp and other mobile applications developed by Russia and China citing “potential counterintelligence threat.”
The Senate minority leader Chuk Schumer called for a probe into FaceApp in July. The app alters users’ photos to make them look younger or older. He called the situation “deeply troubling” as the personal data of US citizens could enter into the hands of hostile foreign power.
FaceApp denies the allegations.
The app was developed by Wireless Lab, a software company based in St. Petersburg. The company said it does not store up users’ images. It only uploads specific photos selected by users for editing.
FaceApp responded to the privacy concerns. FaceApp users complained that the iOS app appeared to be overriding the settings. If for instance, a user had denied access to their camera roll, they could still select and upload a photo despite not granting the app the permission access to their photos.
It responded by pushing the blame to Apple that the company “could probably come up with a better way of describing the permission,” because the OS grants users the power to choose to block an app from full camera roll access. “Most images are deleted from our servers within 48 hours from the upload data,” it added.
Nevertheless, Mr Schumer has requested that the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate the app.
“I have serious concerns regarding both the protection of the data that is being aggregated as well as whether users are aware of who may have access to it,” he said.
This call for probe comes after the Democratic National Committee in July warned presidential campaigns against using the viral face-transforming FaceApp, citing security concerns with hostile foreign power and stressing that the app was developed by Russians. It requested that campaign staff members to delete the app immediately.
“This novelty is not without risk: FaceApp was developed by Russians. It’s not clear at this point what the privacy risks are, but what is clear is that the benefits of avoiding the app outweigh the risks. If you or any of your staff have already used the app, we recommend that they delete the app immediately,” the DNC security chief Bob Lord wrote to alert the campaigners.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
