Linerock Investments Ltd, the company that owns the photo editing app, was first registered in Moscow, according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Last 90 Days. The company currently specializes in the Entertainment area. He said: 'This app is likely a way of capturing people's faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of.'. 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These companies are also behind the popular apps "Photo Lab Picture Editor & Art" and "ToonMe - cartoons from photos," two apps that collectively have millions of reviews, the vast majority of which are five stars. Last 30 Days. However, it seems that the app's website is registered to Linerock Investments, which is based in Moscow not far from Russia's Ministry of Donate to WVU Medicine Childrens Transport Team, The Grinch is getting a sequel, plus other books, Everything you need to know about the Disney California, 13 stylish black tights to wear this winter, WesBanco Arena ready for 2023 MEC basketball tournament, Lube Idol 2023 opens the mic for local singers for, Womens Giving Circle awards grants totaling more, US warns China not to supply weapons to Russia, Orange barrels mean lots of construction in Moundsville, Trinity Health System celebrates 100th TAVR procedure, Wellsburg Bridge project inches closer to completion, Free medic bags given out in West Virginia, Franco Harris statue moved at PIT airport, West Virginia House passes religious freedom bill, Rain event likely for Ohio and West Virginia Friday, WV Bill would make fentanylpossession a felony, Watch: Son covers parents entire kitchen in peanut, Wendys chili to be sold in cans at grocery stores, Dine to Donate at Undos tonight for local family, Complaint: WVSP trooper choked victim, struck her, Man dies after thrown from horse and buggy during, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Since publication of this article the app has added in-app purchases. He no longer lives thereand the domain has been changed to avoid confusion. He does not live in the Russian Federation at the moment. Express. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, shared a screenshot of the requested app permissions. Always cite the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists when using this data. A spokesperson for the app told Dailymail that they do not share user information. "It is true that the domain was registered to the Moscow address. This quickly changed now to Florida, Ritter noted. We did not and do not plan to have any affiliation with any governmental organisations of any country.. Trump tweeted about his return to Twitter on Nov. 19. Discover best apps & games for you from over 6,000,000 apps. The 700-year-old Coronation chair that has been used for the crowning of King Charles has 'jeopardised' the monarchy by meeting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Do we get our 87p back? An Instagram post dated Feb. 20 from NewProfilePic founder Victor Sazhin said he was born in Russia. The domain registrant is not Linerock Investments Ltd, but its founder. The If youve downloaded the new app fad going around making your pictures into characters DELETE IT!" 'All user photos are hosted and processed on the Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure servers, which are located outside the Russian Federation. One of its shareholders is based in Panama City, while a director is also based in Russia. The app does not ask for that information. Experts warn internet users not to download latest online craze New Profile Pic that hoovers up your details.. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists had already included Linerock Investments Ltd on its Offshore Leaks database, showing the firm's registered address was in Central Moscow, The app offers users the opportunity to create quick digital avatars of themselves. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.). Snopes does say that people should be aware that the access they grant when they download any app but again NewProfilePic isnt out of the ordinary. In early May, NewProfilePic, an application that uses artificial intelligence technologies to stylize your social media profile picture, shot to the top of the charts on Google Play and the Apple App Store. A cyber security expert has urged caution over giving the app access to your images and data, Keep up to date with the latest stories with our WalesOnline newsletter. Me and my work bestie were just playing with this app, Josten pointed out. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Offshore Leaks database, Linerock is registered in Moscow and has a Russian director. The apps domain was formerly registered in Moscow because the founder once lived there. The apps owners told Snopes that the company never had an office in Russia, but lawyers at Andersen Business Services who registered it do have an address on The number of employees ranges from 1 to 25. The company's data policy states: "We collect certain personal information that you voluntarily provide to us. We have never had an office there. Get involved in exciting, inspiring conversations. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Let it be different, always new and made by AI! WebLinerock Investments Ltd. It's also important to read a service's privacy policy before downloading as you may be unknowingly agreeing to share personal information. In the United States' Apple App Store, the app is called NewProfilePic Picture Editor and was developed by Informe Laboratories, Inc. the same developing group that released ToonMe. Nothing gets sent to Russia. It is the former Moscow address of the founder of the company. This is necessary to apply all those fancy effects driven by AI technologies., App developers, describing how the technology works, said: Whenever you choose an effect that involves face manipulations we use special face recognition technologies to detect a photo; find required facial key points, and apply the effect to your photo., They added: The detected key points may be kept along with the photo on our servers for up to two weeks from the last interaction with the photo. Creators of photo editing apps. You can download a raw copy of the database here. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Internet users are being warned about the New Profile Pic app as it may be stealing their personal info, one expert has claimed, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The company behind the App is called Linerock Investments Ltd, who according to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Offshore Leaks Most prominent include Photo Lab (over 200 million downloads) and Emolfi Keyboard. a story from the British tabloid Daily Mail, British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission, Yes, eligible Americans need to apply for a federal program to get discounted internet service, Yes, Uber and Lyft customers can be refunded for canceling a ride if a driver doesn't wear a mask, No, police cannot force you to unlock your cellphone without a search warrant, Kate Polezhaeva, spokesperson for Linerock Investments LTD, Privacy policies for Linerock Investment LTD apps, Picsart, TikTok and Facebook. Although there currently is no evidence to indicate that New Profile Pic is a scam, you should always do your due diligence with new apps. "This app is likely a way of capturing peoples faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of and based in another country. He updated it yesterday after seeing its part in the Daily Mail post, she said in the email. When we asked the Linerock about this assertion raised by The Daily Mail, the spokesperson told us that the media outlet was referring to an address of lawyers who had registered the company in Moscow, not of the company itself. A blog post from the app developers published May 11 touting the apps success also confirms the office locations. (WTRF) UPDATE: Snopes has provided an update regarding the NewProfilePic app. Lunina said the domain address in Moscowwas registered tothe former addressof Victor Sazhin, the founder of Linerock. Linerocks headquarters are based in the British Virgin Islands, and they have development offices in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Kate Polezhaeva, a spokesperson for Linerock Investment LTD, which developed NewProfilePic, told VERIFY via email the company currently has development and customer support offices in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. However, it seems that the app's website is registered to Linerock Investments, which is based in Moscow not far fromRussia's Ministry of Defence, the Daily Mail said. Was the money refunded? The website of the app, newprofilepic.com is in Moscow. Updated [May 13, 2022]: Updated to note that the app has since added in-app purchases. The company explained that they use Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure, two servers located in the U.S., and that no user images or data are sent to Moscow: However, theres a flip side to the apps popularity. I personally was born in USSR in Moscow and moved to Krivyi Rih [Ukraine] being two months old. 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The privacy policy lists what their apps can access. According to Polezhaeva, the domain name for www.newprofilepic.com, the website affiliated with the app, was originally registered by an attorney with Andersen Business Services, Inc., which has an office in Moscow. Published: 11:32 GMT, 11 May 2022 | Updated: 18:02 GMT, 12 May 2022. Linked countries: British Virgin Islands, Russia. After, The Daily Mail and others reported the app was created in Russia. By agreeing to download the app, users are willing to share their location, details about the device they are using as well as other photographs on their social media feeds. Hundreds of thousands of people have uploaded high-quality pictures of their faces to the New Profile Pic app in order to get a modified profile picture to use on social media. According to the Internet users have been warned against using a free new photo avatar creator, The website for for the company is registered in Moscow, Russia, according to the who.is database, The firm offers high quality digital avatars if people are willing to upload a photograph to their computer servers, The developers use special recognition technology to pinpoint required facial key points to apply the effect to the photograph. Get the Android Weather app from Google Play, Medic bags distributed to West Virginias EMS workforce, Millions of dollars and hundreds of orange barrels, Best Virginias Flowers to play at Wheelings first, Ohio Valley man part of rare disease clinical trial, Mayor Elliott says business will be booming when, No umps when Orioles and Pirates play unneeded bottom, Wheeling Central Headed To The State Tournament, Aiden Davis Sets Records As Park Advances. Everything seems to be controlled by Andersen Business Services which is still registered in Russia, Ritter said. Google Play, NewProfilePic: Profile Picture, accessed May 12, 2022, App Store, NewProfilePic Picture Editor, accessed May 12, 2022, Pho.to, Privacy Policy, accessed May 12, 2022, NewProfilePic home page, accessed May 12, 2022, Google Play, Instagram, accessed May 13, 2022, Google Play, TikTok, accessed May 13, 2022, Snopes, Is New Profile Pic App a Russian Malware Scam?