Solving The App Privacy Problem

Revelations about FaceApp have rekindled debate over how to protect your data.

- Rivan Stinson

Florian Schaub is an assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

FaceApp, the viral app that shows you what you will look like as you age, has sparked the most recent debate about online privacy. Should people be worried about the data the app collects?

I think what started to make people look deeper was that the app’s developers are Russian and the app’s privacy policy made broad claims about how they might reuse photos. It could mean they’re creating some kind of legal room for themselves to share information with other companies and use it for other purposes. Or it could simply mean that they are trying to limit their liabilities. Still, it is a red flag.

How can app privacy policies be improved?