Skip to main content

Who defines 'hotness'? FaceApp under fire for filter that favors lighter skin tones

faceapp hotness filter 45214933 ml
Dejan Bozic / 123RF
The neural network app that edits selfies is now taking a lot of heat for its “hot” filter — FaceApp recently apologized after users noticed the filter designed to make selfies look “hot” was actually lightening skin tones.

After apologizing to users, FaceApp changed the name of the filter to “spark,” and the app says a complete fix is currently in progress. The app uses artificial intelligence to edit selfies, with capabilities extending from turning frowns into smiles to making people look younger or even switching gender.

Recommended Videos

Yaroslav Goncharov, the app’s CEO and creator, told The Guardian that the skin lightening was a result of a training bias in the neural network and not an intended effect. Neural networks are trained by feeding the computer thousands of images. If those thousands of images tend to be almost all one race, the resulting artificial intelligence platform is biased towards that race.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

FaceApp only launched earlier this year, with the iOS release in January and the Android following a month later, but it’s currently seeing a surge in popularity and adding around 700,000 users daily.

The FaceApp fiasco isn’t the first time AI has become embroiled in skin-tone issues — recent MIT research showed that facial recognition systems have trouble identifying dark-skinned faces, for example. The issue is also exemplified when software engineers use the same open-source training data set for their own apps, moving the bias further into more programs, the research suggests. While FaceApp does use some open-source AI, the AI behind the “hotness” filter was reportedly developed by the company, so the skin-tone favoritism is likely a result of the company itself failing to use diverse images to train the platform.

Other facial filters have also come under fire for favoring certain races and stereotyping others — last year Snapchat removed the “yellowface” filter that turned faces into Asian caricatures with squinting eyes. While many users like the ability to enhance their selfies, the effects are leaving some users asking, who’s supposed to define what “hotness” looks like anyway?

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Cyber Monday Sony camera deals: Save on camera body and lenses
sony-a9-best-mirrorless-camera

There are a lot of Cyber Monday deals that are turning out some impressive discounts right now. This is great news if you’re looking to save on a camera, as Cyber Monday camera deals have some of the best prices we’ve seen all year. This is especially true among Sony cameras, as some of its most popular cameras are seeing discounts. We’ve tracked down all of the best Cyber Monday Sony camera deals, and you can find them all below.
Our top pick: Sony ZV-1F vlogging camera — $398 $500 20% off

Vloggers and content creators regularly turn to the Sony ZV-1F for their camera needs. It can shoot in 4K resolution, which is pretty impressive for such a small-bodied camera. And while it’s designed with some features that make it nice for filming with, this is also a quality photography camera if you’re looking for something small and pocketable. You can grab the ZV-1F for under $400 with this Cyber Monday deal, which is a 20% discount and a savings of more than $100.

Read more
Best Cyber Monday camera deals: DSLR, action cameras, and more
Canon EOS R10 camera mirrorless with STM lens attached and flash up

Cyber Monday has come and gone, but many retailers still have excellent Cyber Monday deals. This makes right now your last chance to get some early holiday shopping done or to pick up some tech for yourself. Photographers should be glad to hear this, as there are a lot of Cyber Monday camera deals already available. We currently see models discounted from top brands like Canon, Nikon, Sony, and others. You can also check out these Cyber Monday laptop deals and Cyber Monday tablet deals so you can access content on the go.
Canon EOS R100 with 18-45mm lens — $350 $600 42% off

Canon is a favorite among photographers, and if you’re looking for an entry-level camera from the long-time camera maker, the EOS R100 offers up $250 in Cyber Monday savings here. The camera itself has a 24-megapixel sensor that can capture beautiful photos and 4K video. You’ll also get three free months of iCloud+ with this camera, and the Canon RF-S 18-45mm IS lens.

Read more
Don’t miss the chance to get this 128GB SD card for less than $100
The Lexar 128GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card on a white background.

Your new purchase from camera deals will need storage for photos and videos, but you can't buy just any SD card that you see online. It's highly recommended that you invest in a high-quality storage device like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card, which you can currently get from B&H Photo Video with a $75 discount on its 128GB version that brings its price down from $170 originally to a more affordable $95. You may want to buy multiples of this SD card while it's available for less than $100, but you'll have to hurry because we're not sure how much time is remaining on this bargain.

Why you should buy the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
More devices are using microSD cards for expanded storage, but according to our guide on finding the right memory card for your digital camera, most DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras are still using SD cards like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card. Lexar is one of the brands that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to photographers, and this SD card's read speed of 300 MB/s and write speed of 260 MB/s will enable quick transfers and smooth shooting. Additionally, as an UHS-II card, you won't have a problem with advanced functions such as continuous shutter bursts, rapid shooting, and raw and JPEG captures.

Read more