The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is warning the public about the carefree use of yearbook AI apps, citing potential risks that come with their use.
The announcement comes in light of the proliferating use of the applications. When used, the AI app can convert images into vintage-style high school yearbook photos that resemble the 90s era. This is certainly a nice shoutout to the bygone era, which many Millennials of today or those born before the year 2000 would like to pay tribute to, and inevitably, those who never lived the era would like to mirror in a fun way.
The trend is even largely fueled by influencers and celebrities who, whether directly or indirectly come to endorse the usage of the apps’ cool features. The effort may come off or even be dismissed as simply for amusement or purely innocent, but there are potential risks that lie in waiting on the other side of the app.
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In particular, as the process of generating the yearbook AI photo requires multiple images of a single person (roughly 8 to 12 images), said photos could be used for malicious purposes. Namely, for the fabrication of false identities online, identity theft, data breaches, phishing, sexual exploitation, ransomware attacks, and other forms of malicious activities.
As such, the NBI is asking the public to be vigilant about sharing their personal information online. This advisory coincides with an earlier announcement by the National Privacy Commission which expressed a similar concern.