Early Prime Day Deals Amazon Prime Perk: Free Grubhub Plus Shop a Laptop on Prime Day? Suddenlink Internet Review Smart Home Discounts Echo Dot, Smart Bulb Bundle Best Mesh Routers Echo Show 5 at Lowest Price
Tech Services & Software

The FaceApp #AgeChallenge is filling Twitter with pictures of old people

Curious to see what you might look like 50 years from now?

Jennifer Bisset headshot
Jennifer Bisset
2 min read
screen-shot-2019-07-17-at-1-59-40-pm
FaceApp lets you edit a person's face.
FaceApp

Looking for a fresh reminder that old age, and the cold specter of death, comes for us all? Might as well install FaceApp and take the #AgeChallenge.

The FaceApp #AgeChallenge, also tagged as the #FaceAppChallenge, involves using FaceApp to augment your own or someone else's face to look old. The app lets you pick a photo from your gallery and -- with the help of AI -- mercilessly edit it with one of its filters. You can add a new hairstyle, force someone to smile, and two years ago, change their skin tone. That feature was quickly removed.

FaceApp launched on iOS in January 2017, and hit Android in February of the same year. It's free, but has had its fair share of controversies. Firstly being accused of being racist, and secondly over privacy concerns.

But it does a great job of making you look old.

Twitter is filled with examples of the FaceApp #AgeChallenge. Chuckles and cringes aside, eventually you might pause again. As you stare at a beautiful celebrity now etched in wrinkles, you might find yourself reflecting on the terrifying brevity of life. Fun!

Let's go on this rollercoaster together.

Here's that slightly different take on the challenge with Aniston and Pop.

And here's young and old Tom Holland.

What do you reflect on when a robot does the challenge best?

Old Captain America is still worthy.

Somehow Supergirl looks even more wholesome.

This is probably the most cringe-inducing.

Thank you for this, Gordon.

We end on a more hopeful note.