By Ina Fried, Sara Fischer | Axios
A viral photo-filter app that lets people see older versions of themselves is highlighting concerns about handing personal information to overseas-developed apps, as well as any app that has vague privacy policies.
What’s new: FaceApp, which has gone viral before, has re-emerged as the most popular iPhone app as people flock to post their digitally aged selves on social media. The app, owned by Russia’s Wireless Lab, has risen to the top of Apple’s App Store and #FaceAppChallenge has exploded on social media.
Why it matters: To date, most of the data regulation debate has focused on apps built by U.S. companies that use data to drive advertising dollars.
The recent surge of foreign app downloads is sparking a new conversation about the national and economic security implications when companies in other countries (and potentially their governments) might be able to access U.S. personal data through free, viral apps.
The bigger picture: FaceApp’s renewed popularity has some worried that the Russian company behind it may be accessing millions of users’ data with relatively little oversight.
