The New Profile Pic app has been making headlines as the new smartphone app to get — but some people are worried that the viral application might be a scam. As we've seen time and time again, the smartphone app world is constantly changing. At the beginning of the year, apps like Locket Widget and NoteIt were all anyone could talk about. Now, BeReal and LiveIn are all the rage.
Another app that's taken the world by storm is New Profile Pic. Compared to some of the other apps that have gone viral this year, the New Profile Pic app is remarkably simple. You download it on your phone, upload a picture of yourself, and New Profile Pic uses AI to transform it into what looks like a hand-drawn portrait. You can then download the photo and upload it to your favorite social media app — giving yourself a fun and unique profile picture.
As with any viral app, some people are worried that New Profile Pic is using its cute photo editing tools to hide a nefarious scam. The claims range from New Profile Pic harvesting heaps of user data, having dark connections with Russia, and even hacking people's bank accounts and stealing money from them. Things really escalated when
Daily Mail published an article titled, "Is Russia after YOUR personal data? Experts warn internet users not to download latest online craze New Profile Pic that hoovers up your details." It's all scary stuff on the surface, but if you're already using apps like TikTok and Facebook, New Profile Pic isn't any more dangerous.
Why People Think New Profile Pic Is A Scam
Let's address the Russian connection first. A screenshot circulating online shows that New Profile Pic's website was registered in Moscow. Furthermore, Daily Mail suggests that the app has connections with the Kremlin since it has a building "overlooking the Moscow River three miles from Red Square." It's a spicy angle to run with, but it's also one without much merit. In an email sent to Snopes, a spokesperson for New Profile Pic explains that — while the site's domain name was initially registered in Moscow — the company's founder has since moved out of the country. Furthermore, the company explains in a blog post that it is based out of the British Virgin Islands and is "being developed by an international team with development offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus."
What about the claims about New Profile Pic harvesting and collecting user data? The New Profile Pic website links directly to the company's privacy policy. Digging through the policy, there's nothing noticeably worse about New Profile Pic compared to the data you share with Facebook, Google, etc. Per the privacy policy, "We [New Profile Pic] collect certain personal information that you voluntarily provide to us. For example, we collect your name, email address, user name, social network information and other information you provide when you register, set up an account, contact us by e-mail or use our services." The app also uses cookies and device usage data and shares that with third parties to "serve you relevant advertising." Furthermore, New Profile Pic says that it saves photos you upload on the app for up to two weeks. While that's not ideal, New Profile Pic explains that the only purpose of this "is to speed up any further processings of the same photos." And on top of that, those photos are stored on U.S.-based Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure servers.
Considering all of that, it's safe to say that New Profile Pic isn't an outright scam. Is it collecting data from your phone and sharing that with third parties? It sure is — but so are most other apps on your smartphone. If you're hyper-focused about digital privacy and want your data to remain as secure as possible, it's probably wise to avoid using New Profile Pic. But if you already use other photo and social media apps without any worry, there's no real harm in also adding the New Profile Pic app to the mix.
Source: Daily Mail, Snopes, New Profile Pic