Viral Chinese Deepfake App Zao Sparks Major Privacy Fears
A popular new Chinese app called Zao allows users to easily swap their faces onto celebrities, but its extreme user agreement raises serious privacy and intellectual property concerns.
A Chinese app called Zao quickly becomes the top free iPhone app in the country by allowing users to seamlessly superimpose their faces onto famous celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and Marilyn Monroe. Published by Nasdaq-traded social networking company Momo, the application showcases just how accessible and popular deepfake technology currently is for everyday consumers.
The app sparks significant privacy concerns because users agree to surrender the intellectual property rights to their own faces upon uploading a selfie. This controversial user agreement permits Zao to use these personal images for its own marketing purposes, creating widespread worry about how personal biometric data is collected and monetized.
This surge in popularity mirrors past viral applications like FaceApp, renewing fears that malicious actors could easily manipulate public figures or everyday people to make it appear as though they are doing things that never happened. As deepfake technology becomes increasingly simple to use, experts warn about the potential dangers of unregulated facial manipulation tools.