Here's what you need to know about the app that's turning everyone into a cartoon character
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - It's the app that's turning people into a Pixar-inspired cartoon character with uncanny accuracy, but is it safe to use?
Voila AI Artist is a photo editing app for iOS and Android that uses artificial intelligence to turn your pictures into a Renaissance era painting, Pixar inspired cartoon and more. It's the cartoon that has everyone going wild and the feature that has propelled Voila to the top of the App Store charts.
The app is free to use on both platforms but there are ads, along with a subscription to get rid of them and access "faster processing." I found that processing my picture was relatively fast, even without a subscription.
A subscription runs anywhere from $3 to $30, if you sign up for a free subscription keep in mind it will automatically start charging you after 3 days.
You should always be wary of any app that requires you to upload a picture of your face. Voila says it deletes images after 24 to 48 hours, although there is no way to confirm this. The app will use any data it collects about you for ad targeting, but that's pretty standard.
The company behind the app, Wemagine.AI LLP, seems to be based in England. It describes itself as a "tight knit team of two founders, creative directors, creators and developers who are passionate about combining human's creativity and AI's capabilities to create remarkable products."
This is their first breakout app.
Bottom line: the app is fun and simple to use. My advice is to be cautious. Instead of allowing Voila to access your entire camera roll, I would take a selfie first using the dedicated camera app on my phone and not Voila. Then, allow Voila to access that specific picture to work its magic.
You can't deny the results, they are pretty fun. It's as if you stepped right inside The Incredibles, Frozen and other cartoon classics.
Download Voila for iOS and Android.
Listen to the Rich on Tech podcast for answers to your tech questions.