Lensa app: popularity vs. legality

When it seemed like we were deeply immersed not only in the whirlwind of holiday festivities, project closures, or planning next year’s budget, technology news also made a strong impact on social media in December. Platforms were flooded with vibrant, AI-generated portraits of users, quickly capturing the public’s attention.

This artificial intelligence (AI) technology fascinated not only tech enthusiasts but also a broad audience, as many noticed—or even tried—the trending AI-powered social media app, Lensa AI. The app, based on the Stable Diffusion network, processes billions of images from across the internet. By uploading a set of photos and making a payment, Lensa creates unique, animated facial avatars.

However, as rapidly as the app gained popularity, it also sparked controversy. Criticism arose not only from cybersecurity experts but also from artists, raising concerns about copyright infringement. Lensa’s creators claim that the app does not violate copyright laws, as it only utilizes publicly available images generated by AI. However, users on social media have shared AI-generated images that contain signatures from original artworks, prompting serious intellectual property concerns.

Another pressing issue involves personal data protection, data storage, and usage. Many users agree to terms and privacy policies without fully reading them. Regarding Lensa and similar AI tools, it is crucial to review privacy policy terms, particularly those related to data collection. While Lensa states that uploaded images are deleted from servers after generating an avatar, users who accept the privacy policy grant the app access to private data on their devices, which may be used to further train AI models.

As AI-generated content continues to rise in popularity, legal frameworks struggle to keep up with these evolving technologies. The growing use of AI in creative processes will likely lead to increased debates on copyright infringement, particularly in cases where AI-generated content derives from existing works. Additionally, cybersecurity and data protection concerns will become even more pressing and relevant in the near future.