FaceApp Might Have Your Picture. Facebook and Google Have a Lot More

Sure, I like privacy in the abstract. But I’m applying for an apartment in New York City, and I just sent out my only slightly redacted W-2, credit history and screenshots of my bank account to several people just because they said they’re real estate brokers.

So I cannot judge the thousands of Americans who sent in a picture of themselves to a Russian-made smartphone application that they hadn’t heard of the day before. FaceApp is a viral app that allows people to create startlingly realistic images of themselves as seniors or as children. And this week, it incited a panic as reports emerged that people using the app were sending their images to a little-known Russian company for doctoring.