What To Know About The Gradient Photo Editor App And Why It's So Popular Right Now

This summer, FaceApp caught a second wind as the most popular app on the web. It served its purpose — giving people a glimpse of their aged selves — before fading into a quick retirement.

Now, users have moved on to an app that answers their latest existential question: who is my celebrity doppelganger?

What Is The Gradient Photo Editor?

Gradient Photo Editor is trending as the No. 1 free app (although you will be charged after a free three-day trial), thanks in part to sponsorship deals with the Kardashians and other influencers.

Users upload photos of themselves, and Gradient’s facial recognition software spits out a progression series toward a celebrity look-alike.

According to the app’s terms of use, the developers do not own any uploaded or altered content, but:

"You hereby grant to Gradient a non-exclusive, fully-paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use Your Content to provide our Service, subject to the Privacy Policy."

Who's Behind it?

The app was created by Ticket to the Moon Inc, a developer tied to international investment firm Meihua Capital Partners LLC. Little is known about either entity or their interest in transferring or sublicensing strangers’ photos.

FaceApp lost steam after users discovered its Russian developer had rights to all uploaded photos. That case raised some fears that the creator was harvesting user data for nefarious use. Many were quick to delete the app.

So far, the caution around FaceApp doesn’t seem to have hindered Gradient’s adoption.

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