The popularity of the app that lets people see their older selves has led to security concerns.
In the United States, authorities are worried about what the app’s Russia based developer is doing with people’s photos.
On Wednesday, US senator Chuck Schumer wrote a letter to the FBI to investigate whether personal data uploaded by millions of people onto FaceApp may be finding its way into the hands of the Russian Government.
“I have serious concerns regarding both the protection of the data that is being aggregated as well as whether users are aware of who may have access to it,” the Senator said.
The Democratic Party has also told its politicians not to use the app because of links to Russia.
Wireless Lab, a Russia based company that developed the app, said it does not transfer user data to Russia or share any user data with any third parties.
It also said it does not permanently store images and only uploads specific photos selected by users for editing.
“Even though the core R&D team is located in Russia, the user data is not transferred to Russia,” the company said in a statement
News site Today reported that the company’s terms of service asks users to agree to the “transfer and storage of your information in and to the United States and other countries.”
It also states that people who use the app give the company “irrevocable” and “royalty-free” permission to use their pictures and data, even in ads for FaceApp. Despite that, FaceApp says its server deletes most photos after two days.
FaceApp is currently the top performing app on iPhones and Androids, with more than 100 million downloads, and has become a sensation, thanks in part to celebrities who’ve used it.
Some privacy experts, however, say that FaceApp may actually acquire less information than other companies, like Google, Facebook and Twitter.
