After FaceApp, Instagram and Snapchat Also Started Stealing Data

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As we have discussed that FaceApp is a Russian based mobile application that transforms your faces in many ways. Since FaceApp was stealing data, now security experts have been claiming that what FaceApp has been doing is being done by Instagram and Snapchat for so long.

People are amazed to read hidden ToS of FaceApp, and surprizingly they don’t know that the same ToS is being used by Snapchat as well as Instagram.
Elliot Alderson on Twitter, a French Security Researcher

These apps are available on both iOS and Android, the security researchers objected FaceApp after their Terms of Service clause given the company full irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive, worldwide, fully-paid and royalty-free license to use anyone’s photo anywhere.

FaceApp is developed by Wireless Lab, a Russian company that utilizes AI to see what people will look like in the future. This went viral all around the world and now FaceApp has access to over 150 million faces with their names.

Since there is no evidence that the app has been misusing the data but after looking at the Terms of Service, it seems like that our data can be used commercially as well as personally in near future.

Cyber Lawyer Asheeta Regidi said that other companies also include a clause that whenever a user deactivates the profile then it deletes all the data. But in FaceApp, this clause is missing, giving FaceApp full permission to store all your data even if you delete the app.

In easy words, as per the licensing policy of FaceApp, the company can even use your photos for advertising purposes. Cyber Lawyer Regidi also objected to it. Instagram can also use the photos from its platform, anywhere they want. Ther terms of service and licensing policy is similar to FaceApp. But Instagram’s policy says that they will be using usernames even if they share it, but the problem is, Instagram still has the license to use your picture anywhere they want, she said.

Cyber Lawyer Regidi also mentioned that FaceApp is a violation Data Protection Bill as well as GDPR by the European Union which is currently being discussed in parliament. Since the company can’t provide a clear cut privacy policy yet harvesting data from users smartphones are a complete violation of laws.