There’s a lot of buzz about the Prequel app and its popular cartoon filter, but is the photo editing application actually safe to use? This is a question that pops up every time a new smartphone app goes viral. Every now and then, an app appears out of nowhere and takes social media by storm — whether it be a trendy game, eye-catching photo filter, or anything else in between. As exciting as these apps can be, they also raise security concerns. Should everyone really be rushing to use a new app without taking a closer look at its privacy policy and terms of use?
This is exactly what happened with Prequel. Prequel made its initial debut back in 2020, but it became especially popular in January 2022 when Twitter users started raving about Prequel’s cartoon filter. Download the Prequel app, select the cartoon filter, upload a photo of yourself, and Prequel uses AI magic to turn that image into what looks like a hand-drawn cartoon. The effect is nothing short of impressive, but before everyone rushes to download Prequel for themselves, it’s important to know what’s happening behind the scenes.
To answer the question of ‘Is Prequel safe,’ let’s first take a look at the app’s privacy policy. This is where Prequel describes the type of data it collects, and for the most part, it’s fairly basic stuff. When users sign up for a Prequel account, they may be asked to enter their name, phone number, email address, and postal address. This information isn’t required to use Prequel’s cartoon filter, but it is collected if someone chooses to make an account within the app. What’s a bit more concerning is how Prequel has access to users’ location information. More specifically, part of the privacy policy reads, “With your consent (where required by law), we can also collect data about your device’s precise location (e.g. geolocation via mobile device(s)) for the purpose of tailoring content specific to your area.” Prequel does also note that giving up this precise location information isn’t a requirement and can be disabled at any time. Regardless, it still seems a little invasive that a photo editing app needs your location data in the first place.
Breaking Down Prequel’s Terms Of Use
Prequel’s terms of use is also a mix of good and bad. There’s a lot of basic stuff right out of the gate: Users can’t profit off of photos/videos they create with Prequel’s filters, it’s prohibited to use Prequel in a way that “may negatively affect” its reputation, and you aren’t allowed to upload unauthorized files to Prequel (such as viruses, logic bombs, or unsolicited advertising).
Where things get a little dicey is what happens to photos after they’re uploaded to Prequel. Further down in the terms of use, Prequel says that, when uploading photos, users “waive all rights of privacy, publicity, or any other rights of a similar nature in connection with your User Content, or any portion thereof.” Prequel also says it and ‘authorized third parties’ reserve the right to “cut, crop, edit or refuse to publish, your content at our or their sole discretion.” These rules are most likely in place as safeguards against harmful/inappropriate content, but they’re still worth keeping in mind.
At the end of the day, Prequel is most likely a safe app to use. There’s always some concern when using a random application to upload and edit photos of yourself, but Prequel doesn’t appear to have anything nefarious going on behind the scenes. Anyone especially concerned about their digital privacy may want to sit this one out, but if you’re already using apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, there’s not too much harm in adding Prequel to your mix of apps.
