TikTok changed the shape of some peoples faces without asking – MIT Technology Review

On the surface it was an odd, temporary issue that affected some users and not others. But it was also forcibly changing peoples appearancean important glitch for an app that is used by around 100 million people in the US. So I also sent the video to Amy Niu, a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin who studies the psychological impact of beauty filters. She pointed out that in China, and some other places, some apps add a subtle beauty filter by default. When Niu uses apps like WeChat, she can only really tell that a filter is in place by comparing a photo of herself using her camera with the image produced in the app.

A couple of months ago, she said, she downloaded the Chinese version of TikTok, called Douyin. When I turned off the beauty mode and filters, I can still see an adjustment to my face, she said.

Having beauty filters in an app isnt necessarily a bad thing, Niu said, but app designers have a responsibility to consider how those filters will be used, and how they will change the people who use them. Even if it was a temporary bug, it could have an impact on how people see themselves.

Peoples internalization of beauty standards, their own body image, or whether they will intensify their appearance concern, are all considerations, Niu said.

For Dawn, the strange facial effect was just one more thing to add to the list of frustrations with TikTok: Its been very reminiscent of a relationship with a narcissist, because they love-bomb you one minute, theyre giving you all these followers and all this attention and it feels so good, they said. And then for some reason they justtheyre just like, were cutting you off.

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TikTok changed the shape of some peoples faces without asking - MIT Technology Review