(Was this charge for a subscription? 'Regardless of where they are based, I would always err on the side of caution when handing over sensitive data as once it has gone it is virtually impossible to gain control of it back.'. 'All user photos are hosted and processed on the Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure servers, which are located outside the Russian Federation. Since publication of this article the app has added in-app purchases. On both Google's and Apple's app store, the developer's location is listed as being Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. We depend on the generous support of readers like you to help us expose corruption and hold the powerful to account. On the day of the Dec. 6 runoff, armed groups of Black Panthers were reportedly patrolling certain voting locations in Georgia. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, shared a screenshot of the requested app permissions. Thank you for signing up for our newsletter! Another popular social media rumor claimed that people had money taken out of their bank accounts shortly after downloading this app. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists Offshore Leaks database, Linerock is registered in Moscow and has a Russian director. Copyright 2023 Waterman Broadcasting of Florida, LLC, Warnings issued over New Profile Pic app that may send your personal information to Russia, Hurricane Ian insurance checks are coming with a scary warning, New device allows dogs with separation anxiety to video call their owners, City leaders discuss plans with property owners to revitalize Midtown Fort Myers, Car noise pollution regulations may be coming to Collier County, Boat dumped on side of road in Lehigh Acres, Island Coast baseball prepares for new season after making history, winning state title, Cape Coral mother warns others after daughters accidental fentanyl overdose. (AP). When we looked up this domain on May 11, our results showed that this website was registered in Florida. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, LINEROCK INVESTMENTS may offer to provide the Services, as described more fully on the Site and in Mobile, which are selected by you, solely for your own use, and not for the use or benefit of any third party. "The top management of the company and the managers of the majority of the projects, including myself, are based out of these countries. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. NewProfilePic does not store users accounts or any personal information, Polezhaeva told VERIFY. James Ritter is a cyber security expert and CEO of Pulse Tech and showed online documents that reveal the owner of the app was registered in Moscow, Russia. They said images are sent to Amazon servers to apply the effects, are not visible to anybody and are deleted after two weeks. Linerock Investments LTD is an Android developer, who started in 2010, and thus is one of the Android pioneers. Users on Twitter are also sharing experts' fears of a Russian-based cyberattack or scam, with one person calling the New Profile Pic app a "phishing scam". MailOnline says the company behind the app, Linerock Investments, is based next to Russia's Ministry of Defence, three miles outside Red Square. The app then asks for permission to access photos and media on the device. WebLinerock Investments LTD. Worldwide Totals (17 apps) Period: Last 30 Days. TikToks privacy policy also says certain data is collected when registering to use the platform. The concern is that the app may contain dangerous Russian malware. The number of employees ranges from 1 to 25. We have never had an office there. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists had already included Linerock Investments Ltd on its Offshore Leaks database, showing the firm's registered address was in Central Moscow, The app offers users the opportunity to create quick digital avatars of themselves. Was the money refunded? He does not live in the Russian Federation at the moment. Mr Moore warned: 'Before people upload photos or other personal data to a brand new website, they must carry out their own due diligence where possible. "This app is likely a way of capturing peoples faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of and based in another country. Android, Android. She stressed the company is not affiliated with any particular government or country. Nothing gets sent to Russia. But those rumors dont paint the right picture the app isnt sending your information to Russia. The company's data policy states: "We collect certain personal information that you voluntarily provide to us. You can choose to stop sharing this information with us at any time by going to Facebook or other third-party accounts and removing our access, the policy says. "Dare to be different, with a profile pic that reflects your current mood or state of mind. It is true that the domain was registered to the Moscow address. Or is this just a bunch of hype? Contrary to the claim, it doesnt include banking information or contacts. Rishi Sunak warns MPs they can't trust 'Mr 2nd Referendum' Keir Starmer on Brexit in meeting with backbench DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Rishi Sunak's vaunted Brexit deal could be a landmark achievement, Rishi's deal gives Brexit a second chance. 'The NewProfilePic app lets you change your user image style as often as you want. PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact check. The post, which addresses the war between Russia and Ukraine, provided background on his companys connections to both countries. Some social media users claimed the app was stealing data in a criminal fashion. Everything seems to be controlled by Andersen Business Services which is still registered in Russia, Ritter said. Its flagship app, Photo Lab, has been downloaded over 200 million times to date, The However, the spokesperson said that that person had relocated, and so the company changed the address of the domain registration "to avoid any confusion.". The Dailymail interviewed a Global Cybersecurity The archive had a timestamp of 08:07:36 that day. Nevertheless, your photos (or any other data) are NOT sent to Moscow. According to the new app's promotional material: 'The world around us is fast-paced and always evolving. INTERNET users are being warned about the New Profile Pic app as it may be harvesting their personal info, one expert has claimed. Video shows President Joe Biden recalling an alien encounter. The firm also collects data on the user from other companies and combines it with their own dossier, while also collecting the IP address, browser type and settings from a computer or the device data from a mobile phone. Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore's family say the actor, 61, has 'no further hope' after going into a Ed Sheeran reveals wife Cherry was diagnosed with tumour while pregnant which couldn't be treated until Matt Hancock was warned it was 'inhumane' to impose restrictions on visiting care homes and elderly were at Jacob Rees-Mogg 'had a Covid test for one of his children couriered to his home amid a shortage', according Time to veto keto? We are a BVI company with development offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. The app can be downloaded to your device, and allows the sending of data including your location and access to other social media images on your feeds. It's also important to read a service's privacy policy before downloading as you may be unknowingly agreeing to share personal information. stated on February 19, 2023 in an Instagram post. Internet users have been warned against using a free new photo avatar creator, The website for for the company is registered in Moscow, Russia, according to the who.is database, The firm offers high quality digital avatars if people are willing to upload a photograph to their computer servers, The developers use special recognition technology to pinpoint required facial key points to apply the effect to the photograph. In a word, no. The claim that this app is stealing data for the Kremlin is also unsupported by evidence. Elle Josten of Cape Coral created numerous pictures of her six-month-old son. one Facebook post warned. "We collect your name, email address, user name, social network information and other information you provide when you register, set up an account, contact us by email or use our services," Linerock Investment Ltd. states. According to the We reached out to Linerock Investments for more information, and a spokesperson told us that, previously, the domain was indeed registered in Moscow because the company's founder had lived there. Last 365 Days. Although there currently is no evidence to indicate that New Profile Pic is a scam, you should always do your due diligence with new apps. It is also worth reiterating that this app didn't come from a new company, and New Profile Pic isn't their first app. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. If you will check the search results you will see other apps with pretty similar titles. 3. According to Polezhaeva, the domain name for www.newprofilepic.com, the website affiliated with the app, was originally registered by an attorney with Andersen Business Services, Inc., which has an office in Moscow. You can read more about the company's privacy policy on its website. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Another rumor accused the app of being malware and taking money out of people's accounts. WebLinerock Investments LTD [email protected] Website Palm Grove House, P.O. The case status is Pending - Other Pending. Something went wrong, please try again later. Heres how you can tell. A spokesperson for the App told MailOnline: "We are a BVI company with development offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus," and said they do not share any user information in a way that is not listed in their privacy policy. This app was developed by a company in the British Virgin Islands that uses a team of international developers, some of whom live in Russia. ', The company behind the app is Linerock Investments Limited, Users have praised its ease of use and quality of the avatars, Some have decided against uploading their own photographs and instead used an image of Roger Moore playing secret agent Simon Templar, On Apple's App Store, the App is number one in the photo and video chart, while more than 25,000 have rated it on the Google Play Store, This user claims 'he should've never have been given access to this app', The app can transform an ordinary photograph into a digital avatar in a matter of seconds, This user praised the rejuvenating quality of the app which was able to remove some wrinkles, One security expert warned: 'This app is likely a way of capturing peoples faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of and based in another country'. The data police states we collect certain personal information that you voluntarily provide to us. The top management of the company and the managers of the majority of the projects, including myself, are based out of these countries, Polezhaeva said. 'Although most people will not question the possibilities of anything untoward occurring from simply uploading a photo, the amount of data taken under the radar can often be far more than the user intended on sharing which can cause security and privacy problems. "We understand that due to the current events in Ukraine, any connection to Russia could raise suspicions," Lunina said. Furthermore, you want to keep your device secure with a strong password, biometric features or two-factor authentication. Trump tweeted about his return to Twitter on Nov. 19. 33701 The comments below have not been moderated. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Let it be different, always new and made by AI! DON'T MISSKyiv stands tall after Putin bombardment with two-thirds returning[LATEST]Ukraine ambassador blasts Austria protesters removed from Russia rally[REPORT]Exactly how the UK would react if Russia attacks a NATO ally[ANALYSIS]. In sum, the claim that this app is unusually invasive is untrue. Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. The claim that this app was connected to Russia or the Kremlin was based on screenshots that supposedly showed how the website newprofilepic.com had been registered in Moscow. Youve probably seen it sweeping across your social media feeds. This app comes from a company in the British Virgin Islands that uses an international team of developers, some of whom reside in Russia. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.). Linerock Investments, LTD et al Plaintiff: Rakiem Williams, Tony Brown, Meagan Lehnert and Christina Glenn: Defendant: Linerock Investments, LTD and Vicman LLC: Case Number: 1:2022cv02531: Filed: May 12, 2022: Court: US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois: Presiding Judge: Robert M Dow: Nature of Suit: The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. 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We looked into each of these claims and found that they were largely without merit or unsubstantiated. To better understand how Linerocks privacy policy compares to other applications, VERIFY analyzed the privacy policies for other popular applications. I think Facebook has a lot more info than TikTok does. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Kathleen Polezhaeva from the company said it is based in the British Virgin Islands and has development and customer support offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. This ICIJ database contains information on more than 810,000 offshore entities that are part of the Pandora Papers, Paradise Papers, Bahamas Leaks, Panama Papers and Offshore Leaks investigations. Rishi Sunak looked like he had won the lottery. Snopes does say that people should be aware that the access they grant when they download any app but again NewProfilePic isnt out of the ordinary. The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. On the Apple App Store, the app was rated #1 on the photo and video chart, with a 4.9 out of 5-star rating and more than 16,000 reviews. NewProfilePic was created by a mobile development group called Informe Laboratories Inc., and copyrighted by Linerock Investments Ltd., said Kristina Lunina, a Linerock Investments spokesperson. District of Columbia It is true that the apps domain was initially registered in Moscow. But some folks like Laura Myer of Fort Myers were suspicious of the app and wanted to know who was behind the artwork. Creators of photo editing apps. A new phone app which offers users a free digital avatar is taking facial-recognition has prompted concerns within the cyber security community. Case Details Parties Documents Dockets. Hundreds of thousands of users have uploaded their photos to the app, which was first registered in Moscow. The spokesperson told Snopes: Since all the pictures shared on the social networks bear our #NewProfilePic logo, people use app store search to find the app. In response to a one-star negative review about privacy concerns on the app the company, insisted users photos are not sent to Moscow. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. Lunina said the apps permissions arent much different from those on Instagram or TikTok. Example video title will go here for this video. The Daily Mail reported that this app was developed by a company "overlooking the Moscow River three miles from Red Square," insinuating a connection between this app and the Kremlin. It adds: "We collect your name, email address, user name, social network information and other information you provide when you register.". The company currently specializes in the Entertainment area. 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