Concerns arise about WOMBO.AI - the "deepfake" singing app

Wombo.AI, a new app sensation that creates deepfakes by making any photo sing, has been doing rounds on social media, but concerns have arisen about its data collection. The app available on iPhone and Android requires users to download it, choose their image or take a new one, pick a song from a limited list, and see the results. The app is straightforward to use and allows anyone to participate in a growing trend of deep fakes or synthetic media, powered by AI and machine learning.

However, the tool’s simple nature has led to concerns about user privacy concerning the photos being collected.

Other apps in the past, for instance, those which make people old, for instance, or apply other effects – have led to warnings about what is actually being done with the detailed amount of data handed over by the users.

Wombo.AI explicitly states that it will delete the “facial feature data” after creating the images. However, the facial data is sent to Amazon Web Services to create the animations, and the analytics platform Amplitude is used to study how people use the app. Wombo.AI’s privacy policy asks people to check those app’s information if they are concerned.

Wombo has so far been used for all major celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Elon Musk, Lionel Messi, etc.

Source: The Independent