Are The Russians Really Stealing Your Info Through FaceApp?

You may've noticed that some people in your newsfeeds might be looking a bit older than the last time that you saw them. That's all because of 'Faceapp' created two years ago by a Russian developers that ages you 20-30 years so you can get an idea of what you might look like when collecting social security and retirement checks.

I gotta admit that the app is pretty darn cool and if what it predicts is true, I'm going to look EXACTLY like my dad. But now there are privacy concerns that have been raised due to the country of origin for this app. The acusation is that they are using your photos and other info for nefarious purposes. First, it bears mentioning that like it or not, we live in an age where your information is easier to come by much less to buy and sell than a routine trip to the grocery store (who collects your info too, btw.) Not to mention, companies sneak all kinds of clauses and sneaky stuff into the user agreements that NONE of us EVER read, but what do we do? Click on it anyway...

So, legally we have been giving companies access to our info for YEARS because of our laziness or because the reward of some convenience or novelty is greater than our intuition, and yes they're taking advantage of that, but still. When we click, it's the same as a signature.

Also, exactly how nefarious can grabbing a photo or two of yours be? It's not like most of us have high level security clearances at senstive facilites or are public figures who have incriminating info on our phones that the Russians of all people would be interested in. Now, don't get me wrong, I used to post everything on social media and was on top of every craze that hit but have become intensely private over recent years. However, I've come to find out that there really is very little that we can do to keep our information private these days even if you're a hermit living in the mountains. Your information is the price to living these days and that's just the way that it is. So, do what you can to be more private, but if you're not going to read the terms of agreement for a social sharing app, don't complain when they do exactly what they say they're going to do afterwards.

Oh, and if you want to read more about what was actually in the Faceapp User Agreement and what the security risks are, CLICK HERE.