When we heard there was an app that could turn your selfie into a sound, we had to try it. For 99 cents, you can use iDNAtity Audio on your iOS device to turn your features into a musical masterpiece (or something like that). Now if you’re thinking the app is going to grab a photo of your face, see you’re a girl and assume “Hey! I bet she loves Maroon 5!” and spit out a generic top 40 hit, you’re wrong. There are steps, people, and iDNAtity wants to know a little bit more about your double helix before it pumps out a tune.
First is the Facial Recognition step: You can upload your photo by either accessing your photo library or by using the front-facing camera.
Next is the Phenotype Profiling phase, where you choose your eye, natural hair, and skin color from a palette provided. Additionally, you are also required to state your gender and say whether or not you can roll your tongue or have fixed or attached earlobes, cheek dimples, or a widow’s peak.
Once you generate your profile, you can choose from a variety of instruments for the app to use to play your personal theme song, whose notes are based on your DNA code that’s unique to your identity. Besides instruments, you can also enjoy your song to the sound of ocean waves, a bird’s chip, or a telephone ring. You can choose to save your audio, share it on Facebook or Twitter, or send it by email.
To retrieve your song, you need to connect your device to a computer, access your device on iTunes, go to your device’s Apps tab and find iDNAtity under “File Sharing”, and select your .wav file and save it to your computer. You can also share it via email or social networks.
The science behind iDNAtity Audio is interesting stuff: “In the biological world, the DNA code reads in nucleotide triplets which produce chains of amino acids to form a protein strand,” the app’s site explains. “In the iDNAtity world, iDNAtity audio adds an alternative step and codes the DNA into music.”
However the actual sounds that accompany your face are… sort of horrifying.
Jam’s face sounds like:
Caleb’s face sounds like:
Molly’s face sounds like:
Biggs’ face sounds like (Disclaimer: Biggs is a dog):
