The Cartoon Image Trend Threatens Your Privacy: How to Protect Yourself?
A new trend has swept social media platforms that relies on artificial intelligence to transform personal photos into humorous caricatures, but behind the fun lies a real danger to privacy and cybersecurity.
According to experts, these applications do not just transform facial features; they analyze images with high precision to extract information about age, expressions, clothing, and even the user's occupation and lifestyle, possibly even their social class.
The process is carried out through computer vision models, deep learning, and multimodal models that link images to texts and user behavior.
Dr. Mohamed Mohsen Ramadan, head of the Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Studies, warned in exclusive statements:
"The trend, despite its humor, hides real technical and security risks. Images are not deleted immediately after processing; they are temporarily stored or used to train AI models, or shared with third parties under vague policies."
* Identity Theft and Biometric Data Risks
Dr. Ramadan pointed out that the biometric data extracted from images can be used in deepfakes and identity theft, becoming part of a massive database to improve facial recognition, which may remain even after deleting the account or application.
Linking images to digital accounts increases the risk of revealing identity and digital behavior.
Lieutenant General Abu Bakr Abdel Karim, former Assistant Minister of Interior in Egypt, confirmed:
"Privacy has become threatened, and any digital database is vulnerable to hacking. The problem is not in artificial intelligence itself, but in its unconscious use."
* Additional Risks:
• High-resolution images increase the chances of data exploitation.
• Images can be reused for fraud, blackmail, or forgery.
• Predictive classifications of jobs and lifestyles may be incorrect or biased, and are done without user consent.
* Expert Tips:
_ Carefully read privacy policies before using any application.
_ Avoid linking applications to primary accounts on social networks.
_ Do not upload high-resolution images, and think carefully before sharing temporary fun against significant risks.
In the end, a quick laugh may cost you more than just your time… it could cost you your privacy and biometric footprint!
