FaceApp removes racist selfie filters
The popular "FaceApp" has removed a series of racially-themed filters following a backlash against the app.
The popular app uses Snapchat-style face filters to transform users' faces into different looks. It can make your face look older or younger, for example, or make a woman's face look like a man's.
But in its most recent update, the app also added a series of "ethnicity change filters" called "Black," "Asian," "Indian," or "Caucasian." Seriously.
And, in case you were wondering, the filters were just as racist as they sound. Here's what they looked like when I ran a photo of myself through the face filters.
Unsurprisingly, the app, which has faced criticism in the past for insensitive filters, saw an almost immediate backlash.
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By late afternoon Wednesday, the filters had been removed from the app. In a statement, FaceApp CEO Yaroslav Goncharov confirmed the filters were being removed but still defended them, saying "they don’t have any positive or negative connotations associated with them."
"The ethnicity change filters have been designed to be equal in all aspects," Goncharov said. "They don’t have any positive or negative connotations associated with them. They are even represented by the same icon. In addition to that, the list of those filters is shuffled for every photo, so each user sees them in a different order."
FaceApp isn't the only app to have come under fire for insensitive filters. Snapchat has also faced criticism for a Bob Marley-themed filter and another that was described as "digital yellowface."
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
