Thanks to the rise of deep learning and artificial intelligence, creating your magical AI avatars is no more a big deal. It has already became social media sensation and ending AI avatar trend of year 2022. People are truly putting their social media accounts to the whirl creating their AI-generated portraits  and selfies using Lensa by Prisma

Artificial intelligence have almost gain enough ground in what not. Its intervention stands no bound. AI and ML has several examples of implementation in the field of technology, health, business, internet of things and art. Prisma Lensa, a company which started in 2016, has taken the social media accounts to another verge by assisting people to ethereal-fairies or astronaut-like selfies. People of all kinds and ages are loving their profiles as they are finding it fun and exciting. 

But, everything comes with certain vulnerabilities or risks. So far, there has been no technology that comes with no in-build limitations which people aren’t most of the time aware of. This is what we are here for. This article is about all the prior-checks you have to make sure before using Lensa AI or creating your AI-generate selfies. 

Let’s get started before it gets too late. 

Lensa AI By Prisma 

Lensa AI

A major success for the company has been the introduction of Lensa’s “magic avatars” function. In the first five days of December, more than 4 million individuals downloaded the app globally, according to early estimates from Sensor Tower.

Users spent more than $8 million on the app within the same time period. The current online fad is so-called “magic avatars,” but an expert claims that those who engage in it might not be aware of the privacy and ethical issues raised. Experts have a verdict that where this application sounds exciting at one extent or can be enjoyable in some respects, these idealized perceptions are shaped by societal norms that can be harsh and limited.

Despite of the flawless and exciting selfies it generates, experts believe that people should be considering certain factors before getting too-much indulged into this social media trend. Let’s find what factors should be considered before creating the so-called magical avatar. 

Privacy Policy 

To better understand how the app uses your data, spend a moment reading through the terms of use and privacy policy before using it. Photos are only retained in the app for 24 hours, per the privacy policy, but it appears that with each photo analyzed, the algorithm absorbs information from the photo to improve outcomes in the future.

This raises safety issues with facial recognition, especially in light of the controversy surrounding the use of this type of information by the police. According to the experts, users should think about how their personal information is stored on the app and whether or not their face might be used.

You offer us a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, global, fully paid, transferable, and sub licensable license to use, reproduce, edit, distribute, and create derivative works of your user material, according to clause 5 of Lensa’s terms of use. Simply said, if you’re a user who wants to use Lensa, you accept that Lensa may use any photos you provide however they see fit.

“When our biometric data is being utilized for anything, we must constantly be aware of it. This information is private. We should exercise extreme caution when using the data”-David Leslie, Director of Ethics and Responsible innovation research at The Alan Turing Institute. 

Prisma Labs’ CEO and co-founder claimed  that the business is trying to revise its privacy policy.  In each scenario, Lensa trains a replica of the Stable Diffusion model to identify the face in the uploaded images. This implies that there is a different model for each unique user. As soon as the avatars are created, the user’s images are removed from our systems. 

Until unless the application developers take the initiative of revising their privacy concerns, the future of this application still stands void. It means before the application take steps to ensure security  the users should be aware of the permits they have allowed. The best way is to ensure restrictive permission to the personal data. 

Security Implications

The clause 3 of the Lensa’s term clearly states the security implication of this app beyond uploading AI-selfies. 

In order to collect information about you, Lensa may make use of log file data, device identifiers, third-party analytics, and registered user data. Clint Watts, a national security analyst, outlined the risks of providing a firm with a photo of your face. It’s important to realize how much extra data is routinely collected from your smartphone, even though biometrics may be your main worry.
Your face is used to identify you and can be used to unlock your identity online all over the world.

Be-ware With Uploading Children and Sensitive Photos 

Creating Lensa portraits for kids is totally against the term of use. There are several cases where users report of getting certain sexually intimidating results for the women. The app not only creates naked photographs but also adds cartoonish sexualized elements to them, such as sensual positions and disgusting traits. This is all done without user’s consent which is seriously alarming.

When one of the user uploaded her childhood pictures to the app, the dehumanizing images that would have been idealized keepsakes were instead produced by the programme. The CEO of the company advises against utilizing any photographs of children because the function is not intended for use by minors.

Brace yourself for some offensive outcomes 

The internet is full of images that will steer AI image generators toward subjects that may not be the most pleasant, such as sexually explicit photos or images that could lead to racial stereotypes in people’s AI portraits. You might get outcomes from generative AI that are racist or sexist in addition to weird fingers and second heads. This implies that once you upload your photo, you can see something that either makes you happy or makes you feel disgusted.

Deleting the Application Once Done

Most of the time, once people are done with the application or any fad, they usually prefer uninstalling the application. Either you have decided to keep the application for future use or deleting that, make sure you have recheck all the rights and access you have allowed to the application. Whatever application stays in your phone either it is being regularly used or not, it access things you have given the permit initially without the user being aware.

So, after you have created your AI selfie, try to limit the access and the controls to “only while using the application”. This will prevent any unnecessary breaching by the application to your personal data without consent.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What application is used for creating AI selfies and magical avatars? 

It is Lensa AI application by Prisma which  is the current buzz of the town. Lensa is an AI-powered photo-editing programme that enables users to remove objects from photographs, clean up selfies of imperfections, and more.

How to create AI avatar using Lensa? 

Firstly, you have to download the application on your smartphone. After that, there are steps which are written in details in our article on “AI avatars creating trends on social media“. Give it a read and assist yourself in crating your exciting AI selfie. 

Do you have to pay for Lensa application? 

Just like other photo editors, Lensa AI does offer a weekly-free trial where you can create unlimited avatars possible. After that, you have to buy an annual subscription of Rs, 2499 to access all the premium features of Lensa AI. 

Is Lensa AI safe? 

People have so many views regarding the use of the Lensa application and its safety. As per its privacy policy, it stores your photograph for 24 hours which gets deleted after that. But people consider its security implications are still questionable and are also not safe for children or sometimes create some intimidating avatars which are not appropriate.

Who owns Lensa AI app? 

Prisma, the company behind Lensa, became well-known in 2016 when it introduced a feature that let users edit selfies to seem like works by famous artists.