If you've been on social media lately (and, come on I know you have) you may have noticed some of your friends looking a little bit different thanks to the new FaceApp. So, what is the FaceApp? The free FaceApp: Neural Face Transformations from the Apple App Store, or Google Play, can transform your already fabulous face into an older, younger, teeth-baring, or totally opposite version of you (additional options are available on the paid version). Curious yet?
The app was developed by Wireless Lab out of Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and it's caught on in the United States over the past few weeks. If you're wondering what all of the fuss is about the developers say the secret lies in the technology behind FaceApp.
“We developed a new technology that uses neural networks to modify a face on any photo while keeping it photorealistic," founder and CEO Yaroslav Goncharov told TechChrunch.
Apparently what sets FaceApp apart in a sea of already available selfie apps is that instead of simply applying filters like some other apps, this one applies deep learning technology to alter the photo itself, according to TechCrunch.
"Our main differentiator is photorealism,” Goncharov said in an interview with TechCrunch. “After applying a filter, it is still your photo. Other apps intentionally change a picture in a way it is entertaining, but not a real photo anymore."
So if you're a techie, you might want to check it out. Personally, I'm not; and I don't think this app makes my selfies better, but that's just me.
The teeth in the two smile options are not flattering, and as a man apparently I look like a cross between Keith Richards and Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean. I happen to really like Richards, and I used to be a fan of Depp, so I guess it could be worse. Maybe I'll start a Rolling Stones cover band when I turn 65. After all, it's good to have retirement goals, right?
Regardless of what I think, the FaceApp has caught the attention of the internet, and even celebs like Amy Schumer, and Mindy Kaling. It seems we're not satisfied with adding animal ears and noses to ourselves on Snapchat; apparently we want more. The news site Mediate even FaceApped the entire Donald Trump cabinet, and Motherboard tried out FaceApp with dogs, which is a little creepy.
It's too soon to tell if FaceApp will stick around for the long-haul selfie game, or if this new trend is a more of a sparkle and fade phenomenon, like tying a shirt you had no intention of wearing around your waist in the '90s. I mean, how long until I get bored seeing how many versions of weird looking teeth it can add to my selfies?
But, for now, for better or worse, the app has people talking, and trying it out. Late Late Show host James Corden had some fun with the FaceApp on a recent show, and swapped faces for himself, as well as for Handmaid's Tale actor Elisabeth Moss, How to Be A Latin Lover Actor Eugenio Derbez, and The Fate of the Furious star Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, with pretty hysterical results.
While it can be fun to FaceApp the day away, like any app that can alter your image, there can be some pitfalls. That being said, have fun using the app responsibly, and not while driving.
