This past summer,
we warned you about FaceApp. The AI-powered app allows users to upload a selfie and make changes to the image using different filters that make them look younger, older, or even change the color of their hair. A trending #AgeChallenge spurred
phone users to create images of themselves as they might look 30 to 40 years in the future (and no, using this on a photo of your iPhone won’t let you see what the iPhone 51 Pro Max will look like). During the summer, FaceApp was the #1 top free and #2 top-grossing app on the Apple App Store and had over 100 million installs from the Google
Play Store 30 months after its launch.
But there were privacy concerns about FaceApp, especially when it was discovered that the privacy policy of the app’s Russian developer allowed it to access and store users’ location data and browsing history. The concern about FaceApp even reached the U.S. Senate where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking for an investigation. The CEO of Wireless Lab, the Russian developer behind the app, said that only uploaded photos are stored in the cloud and that is for a period lasting no longer than 48 hours. The executive also said that the company will remove images from its servers upon request. (Our take? Where there is smoke there’s fire).
Gradient will find the historical figure or celebrity who is your doppelganger
And that brings us to the latest app sensation, Gradient, which is available for both
iOS and
Android. This is a photo editor that offers a way for users to customize the look of portraits and selfies. And now it has added a new feature that has Jimmy Kimmel buzzing. This new feature takes a selfie-and finds a historical person or celebrity that resembles the user (who can then share the results on social media). Kimmel turned the national spotlight on the app when he showed his television audience images from Gradient that turned the late-night television host into Matt Damon. Kimmel fans got a chuckle out of that because he and Damon have had a fake feud between them for years.
“We would like to introduce our brand new FUN feature – the most accurate look-alike technology! See which historical person or celebrity looks similar to you and share your awesome result with your friends as a Story or a Post!”-Gradient
While Gradient is free to install on your phone, several features require a recurring subscription. You can request a 3-day free trial after which you’ll be billed $19.99/month, or you can agree to pay $4.99 a week. But before you install the app, there are some red flags. The app’s developer, Ticket to the Moon, Inc., is unknown and our early warning system (reading the comments section) brings up some negative experiences. The very first comment reads, “This app is awful. I want to unsubscribe because I am not at all satisfied with my free trial and I literally can’t. There is no way to unsubscribe. They have not yet replied to my email. And I cannot find a phone number for the app or the incorporation they’re under. This is ridiculous. This is absolutely a scam. I will be so angry if I am charged $20 a month for a service I don’t want and can’t cancel. Fix this.”
Jimmy Kimmel has fun with the Gradient app
And if that comment isn’t scary enough, a few mention how hard it is to cancel after the three-day free trial is over. If you really need to find out which historical figure or celebrity you look like, ask your friends. Or post your selfie on Twitter and see what subscribers to the social media site have to say.
Red flags appear in Gradient’s comment section in the Google Play Store
