"The human brain has large memory storage. It made us curious and very creative. Those were the characteristics that gave us an advantage - curiosity, creativity, and memory. And that brain did something extraordinary. It invented an idea called 'the future.'" -David Suzuki (Canadian Academic)
Above quote accurately points out the potential of the human brain in terms of creativity and curiosity. And when these two things meet, they can create the future, sometimes quite literally.
Mr. Yaroslav Goncharov perfectly demonstrates it through the creation of one of the most trending apps called FaceApp. His mobile application development agency 'Wireless Lab' has completely revolutionized the world of photo editing with this product. And people just can't get enough of it.
What so special about FaceApp?
If you don't know this already, then it is suggested that you should stop living on an island with no communication. It is an AI-based app which can realistically transform the faces in the photographs. It can make the person in the picture look older or younger. The app can make them look like a person of a different gender too. Undeniably, the developers have done a pretty good job at it.
The app has become an overnight sensation.
Instagram has been bombarded with the FaceApp photographs. People are trying various features of this app and get astonished with the results. But there is one filter which is being appreciated on a different scale, i.e., the age filter. FaceApp gives such convincing photographs of your aged self that you can't resist the temptation of sharing it with others. The app already has 100M+ downloads on the Playstore and not very far behind in the App store as well.
What is the growth story of FaceApp?
(Source: Forbes.com)
Forbes published an article in the second half of the July month of 2019 with a line graph showing the increase in numbers of downloads of Faceapp in the U.S. on iPhones. According to the article, the app saw a growth of 561%, which started on the 12th day of July.
Following snapshot gives you a comparative study of the popularity of app on both android and iOS in the U.S. Although the app showed similar growth on both the platforms but iPhone users are more in absolute numbers.
(Source: appfigures.com)
What is the technology behind FaceApp?
It can be said that when the curiosity of getting a glimpse of future-self met with the creative use of Artificial Intelligence, it created the magic. This app works on Deep Learning technology. Deep Learning is an advanced type of machine learning. Top machine learning companies make use of deep learning technology to build models from structured and unstructured data.
Every machine learning model works on the sample data. This sample data is provided by the users of the app. Image recognition system provides the sample data to the deep neural networks of the app. That's how the app learns the nuances of the human face. The more sample data is fed into the system; the more realistic results can be expected from the app.
(Source: learn.g2.com)
Is everything so "hunky-dory" with FaceApp?
There is more than one reason for the FaceApp to be the talk of the town. The same application is one of the most controversial apps so far. It is being given a similar look by the cybersecurity organizations which was given to big players like Facebook a few days ago. It is no more a secret that such mobile application development services use our data to make their profits. But the question which is tickling most of the brains is that "does FaceApp crosses the line?"
Is there even a "line"?
Yes, there is. There is always a line of privacy. But our ignorance often fades away this line. When Facebook was taken to court for compromising the public data, they had to make some changes in their terms, conditions, and policies to enhance the cybersecurity. But before the issue becomes so huge, most of us do not even value the significance of our data. That data can either be used to direct our decisions or can be used against us in any form.
How to build an app like FaceApp?
Faceapp got all the eyeballs in the month of July and August of 2019 and not for all the right reasons. But no publicity is bad publicity in terms of financials. The app was earning thousands of dollars when the controversy around its policies was on the peak. Therefore, it is natural that tomorrow you may think about a product similar to FaceApp and who knows that can be a million-dollar idea.
As we have already discussed that the app uses artificial intelligence with the help of deep learning technology to give realistic results. Although the exact tech stack is not revealed by the makers of FaceApp but it is highly likely that you need developers who are pro in Swift, Python, OpenGL and Apple API. These technologies are not easy to master and involve more than one person to make a finished product in a realistic timeframe.
Therefore, it is advised that you should go to the mobility service providers with your idea and let them take care of the development part. But there are some points which should be kept in mind before going ahead with such idea:
- Is your idea original? There are tons of photo editing apps ling in the application stores. To make a viral product, it should offer something unique.
- Can it stay for a longer time? Some apps are just "trendy" apps. They come, and they go. If you have an idea which can solve a problem using deep neural networks, then you can stay in the market for a longer period of time.
- What is the cost? As discussed earlier, such an app development needs experts. They are not easy to find, and unfortunately, they charge really high. Therefore, spend some good time on cost-benefit analysis of such a product.
Conclusion
We know that the world is much smaller now than before and the major credit goes to the Internet. The products are international; companies are becoming global, and even work done remotely. For example, several U.S. companies outsource mobile app development to India. The robustness of information security, which is maintained in such remote projects is unquestionable.
So, if you are looking to build an app like FaceApp, then you must do proper research and select the best mobile app development agency. Signity Solutions is one of the leading custom web and mobile app development company in India, that has developed 200+ mobile apps for different businesses and provided end to end mobility solutions.
