FaceApp, which was developed by a group of programmers in St Petersburg, Russia, has prompted a new viral challenge with people from all over the world posting pictures of themselves looking 40-50 years older.
According to the analytics service App Annie, FaceApp’s rating in Google Play and the AppStore in the US, Russia, and dozens of other countries skyrocketed over the past week. The program jumped to the top 10 on both platforms.
The app first went viral in 2017, offering numerous filters, including one making a user appear older. However, it has now been re-mastered and is said to have become more realistic. As founder and CEO Yaroslav Goncharov explained to TechCrunch, the “differentiator is photorealism”.
“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", he said.
He noted that they have managed to develop a new technology by using neural networks to “modify a face on any photo while keeping it photorealistic”.
“For example, it can add a smile, change gender and age, or just make you more attractive", the programmer explained.
However, it was the aging filter that prompted FaceApp’s new wave of popularity, which managed to get myriads of social media users interested, including celebrities. Fierce MasterChef judge Gordon Ramsay has also joined the FaceApp challenge, as well as pop stars Drake and the Jonas Brothers.
