Megaviral Meitu “beauty” app’s data grab is anything but skin-deep

Our editor, Sebastian, finally achieves self actualisation through technology. (credit: Sebastian Anthony)

A Chinese app which allegedly makes selfies look more attractive—or more like an anime character, at any rate—has a dark secret: it demands permissions for far more personal data than it needs, including users' IMEIs, phone numbers, and GPS coordinates.

Meitu, an app which has been out for years on both iOS and Android in China, has shot to fame outside the country in the last few weeks, due to the "beauty" filters it can apply to people's selfies. Among other functions, it can sharpen people's jaws, put a sparkle in their eyes, and smooth out and lighten their skin.

The result? Meitu-filtered pictures are suddenly everywhere. The backlash, however, has been just as swift.

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