Public Warned of Risks of Gender Swapping App|變臉App掀風潮 軟體被爆有資安風險

Many people are currently using an app with a gender swap feature and sharing their results online for fun. However, there are security concerns about this Russian-developed app and users may have their personal information leaked due to their usage.


Kuomintang Legislator Chiang Wan-an, Vice President William Lai, and politician Wu Yi-nong are among the political figures whose photos have been put through an app with a gender swap feature. This app first gained popularity last year for a face-aging feature, and it recently launched a gender swap feature. Many people are sharing the results online. Experts say there are security concerns with this Russian-developed app and usage may result in the leakage of personal information.

Last year, a U.S. senator raised the alarm about FaceApp, saying the Russian government has the authority to access the servers of any Russian company and the information they contain.

National Taiwan University professor Tsungnan Lin says it was previously discovered that this app stores the information of users. Although the developer offered an explanation, doubts persist. Another issue is that the app offers a trial period of three days, and then automatically charges users for a subscription. Many people who didn't read the fine print have been charged. Consumer protection officers say users need to inform themselves about related costs before downloading apps or remember to cancel subscriptions.

If you don't press the button to cancel your subscription, then it will charge you for a subscription once the trial period is over. The subscription is charged on an annual basis. You might be unable to get a refund later on.

Taipei City Chief Consumer Protection Officer Yang Li-ping says this app's developer is foreign and it's difficult to get refunds. Even if users file complaints with Apple's App Store or Google Play, the possibility of the dispute being resolved is not high. People therefore need to inform themselves of the provisions and risks of using these types of apps.



國民黨立委蔣萬安，副總統賴清德，以及吳怡農，近來政治人物，照片轉換性別引發熱烈討論，這款變臉app，不只可以轉換性別，先前就因為可以變老在網路上引起風潮，不少人紛紛上傳轉換後照片，不過專家提醒，這款來自俄羅斯的軟體，有資安爭議，使用將可能個資外洩。

台大資訊安全技術中心主任 林宗男表示：「Face App，這個App在去年的時候，就有美國的國會議員，提出這個個資的警訊。原因在於說，俄羅斯政府，可以隨意地取得，俄羅斯公司裡面的伺服器，跟主機裡面的資訊。」

台大教授林宗男指出，這款變臉app曾爆出會存取手機用戶的資料，雖然公司曾出面澄清，不過疑慮仍然存在，使用要注意，另外因為軟體採試用3天就自動續訂，不少人沒有注意就被扣款，引起爭議，消保官提醒，下載前要注意收費規定，或是確實取消訂閱。

台北市主任消保官 楊麗萍表示：「你如果沒有上去按取消訂閱的按鈕，沒有去做取消訂閱動作的話，它試用期滿後，就會開始扣款，而且它扣款是用年費來計算，到時候才發現要去申請退款，可能會沒有辦法獲得退款。」

楊麗萍表示這款軟體，開發商在海外，退費申訴不易，即便轉向App Store或Google Play平台投訴，由於僅是軟體下載管道，消費糾紛解決度也不高，所以民眾使用覺得好玩有趣時，也一定要注意相關規定和風險。