#FaceApp is the latest trend in social media where people using the hashtag are posting their present photo along with the photo in which the face app shows how they will look when they will become the senior citizens. This hashtag is receiving an ample response and people are enjoying doing it just like the #10YearChallenge in which even I posted my photo.

However, some of the news agencies have raised the matter of data collection by FaceApp. I have not read the terms and conditions of FaceApp but I can assure you that definitely, the data collection is taking place. It also happened in #10YearChallenge.

Now the matter is whether to be afraid of it or not. To be honest there are no specific reasons using which one can say that it is something really to be afraid of or not afraid of. Because the real question should be if they are aiming at the collection of a copious amount of data by concocting the conspicuous hashtags then what may be their purpose of doing that? And this question involves both positive and negative answers.

Of course, some of the people will definitely say that how can it be positive when my photo is being stored by some company. To them, I will only say that when they use the Google Drive service to store any document then whether they will classify it as a positive thing or a negative thing. Therefore, I will suggest such people that to revisit the way of framing their question and ask how the data which is being stored by the company is going to be used.

The positive use of the data can be in developing an Artificial Intelligence system that can easily detect faces of the people even if it has learnt the person’s face many years ago. This will help to develop a system for facial recognition that can work for years without updating the system with new data. This system can also be very effective at sensitive places where security is of higher concern. Also, the culprits who are absconding from the law and order can also be easily traced. So, this thing is positive and nothing to worry about it.

However, if we come to the negative part then the first thing is, is the company properly taking care of the data or not? Is it sharing the collected data with someone or not for making quick profits illicitly? If they develop an AI discussed above, what is the guarantee that they will not share or sell the technology to anti-social elements of the society? Will the company be answerable if an individual finds that something wrong happened with him/her because of the data collection by it?

But these are the concerns that must be taken care of by the respective governments of the countries. Many countries have passed data protection law and have also enacted it. Many countries are drafting stringent data protection law-keeping a note of the right to privacy of every individual, along with making the cyber cell of the country very effective and technological advanced to counter any such issues. All these are the measures that can be taken to counter the negative things. Also, the agencies responsible for the security must play a very important role to keep a watch on every company irrespective of its stature and stalwartness. And the respective governments must also equip their security agencies with the power of prosecuting and investigating the companies collecting data if they are found doing any suspicious things.

So, do not worry and do not panic, just enjoy the social media and stay alert (read the statements before accepting any cookies or signing up) because precaution is better than cure.