PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Lensa AI has the internet in a chokehold.
Pretty much overnight, it’s become No. 1 on Apple’s charts for photo and video apps. The app lets users do things like re-touch their skin and increase their eye size.
But it’s the magic avatars that have people racing to pay $7.99 a month or $29.99 a year for the app, which can transform simple selfies into anime, painting, or drawing versions of oneself using AI technology.
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The filters are modeled after the styles of popular artists, leaving some to question the integrity and ethics of the filters.
“Artists saying, hey, you’re taking years of my work and you’re saying that somebody can upload 10 selfies of themselves and get this illustration,” said Katie Love, the CEO of Love Social Media.
There are also questions about how long the app keeps photos and concerns about people using your photos on the app inappropriately.
Love said people need to read the fine print before uploading their selfies.
“Your privacy, the usage data, the internet protocol, the IP address, and cookies that you’re using may be collected, and Lensa is then using the data they’re collecting from people to refine their AI art,” said Love.
In regards to people using your photos inappropriately on the app, this is all spelled out in the code of conduct for Prisma, Lensa’s parent company. Prisma also states in its privacy policy that the company will not use your photos for any reason, other than to apply these filters, without your consent.
Also, the company says it does not require or request metadata, which can include things like the GPS coordinates of where a photo was taken. But some photos may automatically share that information by default without you knowing.
The bottom line, you are going to be giving away some sort of personal information by using Lensa.
And just like with any other social media platform or app, make sure you know what you’re consenting to, and that you agree with the terms before signing up.
Royce Jones
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