Meitu blazing up the app store charts, but the code makes us nervous
Mobile Apps
The net photo filter craze is anime space app Meitu.
If you've been seeing hyper realistic anime portraits in your social media timelines that look like knockoff Sailor Moon you're familiar with Meitu.
The app uses filters to give faces porcelain skin, exaggerated eyes and other features that make a person look like they stepped off the pages of their favorite manga.
Meitu isn't a new app, it's actually been around in China since 2008.
But recently it released its cross-dimensional camera update, which is when downloads started skyrocketing.
Some of the best uses of the app have been pictures of people who would never use Meitu getting a kawaii makeover.
Including Alan Richman's Professor Snape, President-elect Donald Trump, and Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance from The Shining.
There is one thing we feel obligated to tell you though.
Even though Meitu's a free app there are some concerning lines of code that you should know about.
Digital forensics expert Jonathan Zdiarski, shot out multiple Tweets showing the app has not one, not two, but three checks for jailbroken iPhones.
And it also does some other things the App Store is not actually supposed to allow.
He concluded quote, Meitu is a throw-together of multiple analytics and marketing-ad tracking packages, with something cute to get people to use it, unquote.
So while we fully endorse you transforming even the grumpiest of faces into hilarious, beautiful Anime images.
It's also important to remember that free apps usually mean that you and your data are the price you're really paying.
That being said, if you decide to use Meitu, send me your very best anime images.
I'm @ashleyesqueda on Twitter.
Be good humans.
