Chinese Celeb Deepfake App Zao Changes Rules to Ease Users' Data Privacy Worries
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Sep 02 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Chinese Celeb Deepfake App Zao Changes Rules to Ease Users' Data Privacy Worries Chinese Celeb Deepfake App Zao Changes Rules to Ease Users' Data Privacy Worries

(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- Zao, a face-swap application from Chinese dating app developer Momo, has quickly altered its user agreement after netizens raised concerns about possible data privacy risks.

Zao understands users' concerns and it will rectify the issues, the Beijing-based developer said in a statement on Zao's official Weibo account yesterday. The platform that was launched on Aug. 30 allows users to attach their faces to video clips of celebrities. In two days, it became the No. 1 free entertainment platform on Apple's App Store in China.

On Aug. 31, the company changed Zao's user agreement so that the app cannot use the videos outside the platform without the user's consent. New users may delete their videos according to Zao's rules.

By then, many users had written on the app's Weibo wall to request the company to delete their accounts. Zao had originally claimed unlimited global rights to the uploaded videos. It also required users' phone numbers and a connection to their WeChat accounts upon sharing the video. Those links are now defunct. By yesterday, Zao's App Store rating had fallen to 1.9 from 4.6.

Besides losing rights to their pictures, users were worried about losing their money. However, Ant Financial Services Group sought to assure them on Aug. 31 that deepfakes will not be able to pass the facial verification feature on Alipay, its mobile payments app.

Editor: Emmi Laine

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Keywords:   Zao,Face-Swap,Momo,Data Privacy