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China’s Red-Hot Face-Swapping App Provokes Privacy Concern

  • Users can take over as the lead in hundreds of movies
  • Zao has seen avalanche of bad reviews due to privacy concerns
Chinese face-swap app Zao.
Chinese face-swap app Zao.

Photographer: Da qing/Imaginechina via AP Images

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Chinese face-swap app Zao rocketed to the top of app store charts over the weekend, but user delight at the prospect of becoming instant superstars quickly turned sour as privacy implications began to sink in.

Launched recently, Zao is currently topping the free download chart on China’s iOS store. Its popularity has also pushed another face-swap app, Yanji, to fifth place on the list. Behind Zao is a company fully owned by Chinese hookup and live-streaming service Momo Inc. President Wang Li and co-Founder Lei Xiaoliang, according to public company registration documents.