You may have heard of the NewProfilePic app. This application arrived in late April, and managed to become quite popular really fast. The thing is, it’s also quite controversial, but we’ll get to that.
NewProfilePic app can help you create really interesting-looking profile pictures
So, what’s this app about? Well, it uses AI to change your profile picture into something different, it makes it look like a painting. This is not the first app that delivers such a feature, but it is one of the better ones.
Many similar apps also require you to pay up before you start using them. This one includes in-app purchases, but you can use it without having to pay. Also, the UI is really nice, and the app is quite functional in general.
Using it is really simple, and the UI also looks nice
All you have to do is upload your photo (or someone else’s photo you’d like to change), choose from a number of different styles, and let the app do its job. You can choose between a number of AI-driven cartoon portraits, fancy art effects, catchy toony filters, and so on.
This app is currently holding a 4.7-star rating in the Google Play Store, after over 70,000 reviews. It has been downloaded over a million times, though that number could be significantly higher at this point. We don’t know the exact number, of course.
Throw some Russia controversy to the mix
Why is it controversial, though? Well, a report surfaced last month, it was shared by Daily Mail. The title of that article is: “Is Russia after YOUR personal data? Experts warn internet users not to download the latest online craze New Profile Pic that hoovers up your details”.
That title will surely get your attention. In the article, Daily Mail quotes a security expert who said the following: “this app is likely a way of capturing people’s faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of”.
What does that have to do with Russia, though? Well, it turns out the NewPofilePic domain was originally registered in Moscow. The company does have an office in Russia, but it’s not located there.
The company’s representative cleared things up, as did the company’s founder
A representative for PhotoLab said the following (to CNET): “We are a [British Virgin Islands] company with development offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus”. PhotoLab is the company behind this app, if that wasn’t clear.
He also added the following: “All user photos are hosted and processed on the Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure servers, which are located outside the Russian Federation. … It is the truth that the domain was registered to the Moscow address. It is the former Moscow address of the founder of the company. He does not live in the Russian Federation now”.
He also said that he understands the concern considering the current events in Ukraine. It is also stated that Victor Sazhin, the founder of the company, was born in Moscow, but moved to Ukraine as a child. That was revealed via his Instagram. He also noted that he’s against the war in Ukraine. CNET actually talked to the company’s founder via email, if you’d like to get more information on the whole situation.
If you are, however, interested in downloading and trying out this app, you can do so via the link provided below.
2022-06-01 15:05:23