Snapchat Cameo is Deepfake-style feature that puts your face on other people in videos
SNAPCHAT is testing a new feature that uses your selfies to replace the faces of people in videos. Dubbed Snapchat Cameos, the tool lets you edit stock clips to help you quickly convey an emotion or share a reaction to something. For instance, when payday rolls around, you can react by pasting your face onto […]
SNAPCHAT is testing a new feature that uses your selfies to replace the faces of people in videos.
Dubbed Snapchat Cameos, the tool lets you edit stock clips to help you quickly convey an emotion or share a reaction to something.
Pictured are three clips featured in Snapchat Cameos. Users can take a selfie and have their face swapped onto the heads of actors in various videos that can then be shared in messages[/caption]
For instance, when payday rolls around, you can react by pasting your face onto a short video of someone throwing wads of cash into the air.
Or if you’re feeling sleepy, you can stick your mug on a clip of someone sitting in bed while sheep float over their head.
Cameos can be shared with your mates in Snapchat messages.
Some French users received a test version of the feature over the weekend, as spotted by Snapchat buff @Mtatsis.
In a statement, Snap, the company behind Snapchat, confirmed it was testing Cameos in select countries.
It doesn’t appear that the feature is available in the UK or US for now.
“Cameos aren’t ready to take the stage yet, but stay tuned for their global debut soon,” the company told TechCrunch.
The Sun has reached out to Snapchat for further comment.
Cameos is being tested in select countries for now. It doesn’t appear to be available in the UK or US yet[/caption]
Cameos is accessed through the Bitmoji button in the Snapchat messaging keyboard.
You’re asked to take a selfie to teach Snapchat what you look like, and then choose whether you want a male or female body type.
The app then uses AI to swap your face onto the heads of actors in a variety of clips no longer than 10 seconds.
Snapchat has already created a bunch of clips that you can swap your face into.
In one, an actor shovels donuts and other sugary snacks into their mouth from a table layered with junk food.
In another, an actor dances while colourful confetti rains from the sky.
The technology behind Cameos echoes that used to make deepfakes – phoney videos that show someone doing or saying something they haven’t.
AI is used to manipulate real footage of someone to make them do whatever the creator wants.
Deepfakes – what are they, and how do they work?
Here's what you need to know...
- Deepfakes are phoney videos of people that look perfectly real
- They’re made using computers to generate convincing representations of events that never happened
- Often, this involves swapping the face of one person onto another, or making them say whatever you want
- The process begins by feeding an AI hundreds or even thousands of photos of the victim
- A machine learning algorithm swaps out certain parts frame-by-frame until it spits out a realistic, but fake, photo or video
- In one famous deepfake clip, comedian Jordan Peele created a realistic video of Barack Obama in which the former President called Donald Trump a “dipsh*t”
- In another, the face of Will Smith was pasted onto the character of Neo in the action flick The Matrix. Smith famously turned down the role to star in flop movie Wild Wild West, while the Matrix role went to Keanu Reeves
Last month, a scarily realistic fake video of Jeremy Corbyn backing Boris Johnson to be Britain’s next Prime Minister emerged online.
In it, Corbyn appeared to encourage diehard Labour fans to vote for Johnson at this week’s General Election.
The shock clip was produced by London thinktank Future Advocacy, who hoped to raise awareness about the power deepfakes hold in the spread of fake news.
In another of the firm’s deepfake videos, the roles were reversed, with BoJo backing Corbyn to lead the country.
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In a bid to attract more users, Snapchat launched a Snap Games feature earlier this year.
The app has been accused of pushing young women to plastic surgery.
And Snapchat employees have been accused of spying on users by “abusing company tools”.
What do you make of the new Snapchat feature? Let us know in the comments!
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