What do companies do with your face?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably used Faceapp to see how you’ll look when you’re older.But in the days after Faceapp blew up, a conspiracy theory spread across the internet. People were worried that Wireless Lab - the app’s maker - was feeding data to the Russian government. This led to the Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer calling for an investigation into FaceApp. In a letter posted on Twitter, Mr Schumer called it "deeply troubling" that personal data of US citizens could go to a "hostile foreign power".In this episode we speak to the BBC’s Russia and disinformation specialist Olga Robinson about why worrying about Faceapp’s Russian roots misses the point. Maryam Ahmed - a BBC expert in Machine intelligence – answers the questions the Faceapp story throws up and explains why any private company would want pictures of our face in the first place.Producers: Duncan Barber and Lucy Hancock. Mixed by Nicolas Raufast. Editor: Philly Beaumont.

Om Podcasten

Beyond Today is the daily podcast from Radio 4 that asks one big question about one big story in the news - and beyond. Tina Daheley, Matthew Price, and a team of curious producers search for answers that change the way we see the world. They speak to the BBC’s unrivalled global network of reporters, plus occasional special guests, to tell stories about identity, technology, and power - where it lies and how that is changing.