Would you like to see what you’d look like playing a part in the Game of Thrones or Titanic? There’s a new app called Zao that can do just that. It’s the latest craze for China’s iPhone users, but it’s not yet available in the West. The app allows you to convincingly (and hilariously) transpose your face onto actors so it looks like you’re the one acting in the movie or show. For example, your face would replace Leonardo DiCaprio as he’s “on top of the world!”
Almost instantly after launching on the App Store, Zao topped the Chinese iOS download chart, and it’s so popular that it’s still up there, according to App Annie. It is only available to people with a Chinese phone number, and it isn’t listed on the UK or US App Store or Play Store.
Zao was created by Chinese developer MoMo. It allows users to deepfake their faces onto a huge range of actors, singers, and even video game characters by just uploading a single image of their faces. The app takes the image and automatically maps it onto selected video clips for them. The technology is shockingly sophisticated, and the results are quite convincing. The app even has a built-in meme gif generator!
Alternatively, there are other tools that enable users to create deepfakes, transform their appearances, and engage in creative digital experiences.
A Twitter user said:
“I am in absolute awe of #ZAO. I uploaded a couple selfies, choose a clip, and seriously in less then 30 seconds had myself fully deep faked in. I can’t wait till I can watch entire films where every character is me.”
The deepfake app uses AI software to analyze someone’s face and then map it onto a video of someone else. Another Twitter user said, “Pretty soon, corporations will start advertising to you using your own face.” The idea of a world like this really creeps a lot of people out. Another Twitter user pointed out that “once you go viral in any way, your face is pretty much immediately fair game in the public domain.”
After the deepfake app went viral, a slew of comments came in on the app’s download page of concerned users realizing that there was a line in the app’s terms and conditions which stipulated the app had “free, irrevocable, permanent, transferable, and relicense-able” to user-generated content. Zao quickly updated its terms, saying “headshots” and “mini-videos” won’t be used for anything other than to improve the app or anything else pre-approved by the user, reported Bloomberg.
Zao also said in a statement:
“We understand the concern about privacy. We’ve received the feedback, and will fix the issues that we didn’t take into consideration, which will need a bit of time.”
