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TikTok might have built in a deepfakes maker on the sly

The "face swap" feature asks users to take a multi-angle biometric scan of their face, according to a report.

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shelbybown
Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
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TikTok parent company ByteDance has reportedly developed deepfake tech that scans your face so it can be inserted into other people's videos. The video app's coding refers to the feature as "face swap," according to a Friday report by TechCrunch. The face swap code was reportedly found in both TikTok, and Duoyin, its Chinese sister app. 

The face swap feature reportedly asks users to take a multi-angle biometric scan of their face, choose from a selection of videos they want to add their face to, and share the video. 

Deepfake technology -- media that takes a person in an existing image or video and uses AI to swap it with someone else's -- can be used for nefarious purposes. Introducing deepfake technology into an app like TikTok could mean further spread of misinformation on social media. 

TikTok didn't immediately respond to request for comment.

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