Myths and risks of Face App that gives you peek into older self

In early 2017, a service called FaceApp received a wave of press for using artificial intelligence to transform pictures of faces, making them look older or younger, male or female, or adding a smile to appear happier. This week, FaceApp once again made headlines as celebrities, including theJonas Brothers,DrakeandDwayne Wade, appeared to use the app to show what they might look like when they get much older. Enough people rushed to download the app and see their own selfies turn gray that FaceApp is currently the top free app in Apple's App Store. By Wednesday morning, however, there were growing privacy concerns about the app. As onebreathless headlinein a New York tabloid put it: "Russians now own all your old photos." The fears came from stitching together scary sounding but unfortunately not uncommon wording in the app's terms of service with an unverified -- and now deleted -- claim from a developer on Twitter about the app "uploading all your photos" and the simple fact that the company is based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The FaceApp episode highlights how, after more than a year of high-profile privacy scandals in the tech industry, consumers still don't adequately scrutinize services before handing over their sensitive personal data. At the same time, it's a reminder of how little we understand how companies collect our information and what rights they have to it.