Users Worry Over Privacy After Using Russian-Owned FaceApp

BALTIMORE (WJZ/CNN) — Have you aged yourself yet?

Be warned, experts say users should be cautious about using the photo filter FaceApp, which went viral this week.

Launched in 2017, FaceApp isn't necessarily new. But it's making headlines again because the app has gotten good -- like, eerily good -- at showing users what they'll look like when they age.

It's scary, so use at your own risk. Or, take a spin through Twitter or Instagram to see how others have turned out years into the future.

The app is Russian-owned and gives FaceApp access to your entire photo library.

"You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you," according to FaceApp's terms.

So essentially, they can do whatever they want with your photo, change it however they want, use it again, create more content from- you get the idea. They can take your photo and not even tell you.

That's why the New York Post's article says it could be troublesome to users.

It's one of the most downloaded apps, and fans and celebrities are now using the hashtag #faceappchallenge to share their result photos.

The app uses neural networks -- a type of artificial intelligence -- to edit the photos.

And it can do more than just age you. The app can literally put a smile on your face, make you look younger, or swap your gender, too.

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