Remini tops the App Store for its viral ‘AI headshots’, but its body modifications go too far, some say | TechCrunch

The time of Instagram threads topping the App Store has come to an end, thanks to an AI photo-editing app called Remini that’s going viral on TikTok. First launched in 2019, last year the app added a generative AI feature that TikTok users recently discovered that allows them to create professional portraits for sites like LinkedIn by simply uploading their selfies.

In a video by TikTok user @Gracesplace, for example, the creator shows how she sent selfies to create a handful of professional-looking headshots that show her in different outfits and poses. The video has since exploded on TikTok, now reaching 42.9 million views.

@gracesplace #CapCut #ai #remini #fyp 3:15 (Slow Motion + Reverb) Russ

While others replicated its experience, demand for the AI ​​photo app on July 11 propelled it to the #1 position. Over the past 30 days, Remini has seen over 22 million downloads worldwide. As of yesterday, the company estimates that the app was seeing over 20 million daily active users.

On the US App Store, Remini has a 4.6-star rating out of 124,000 reviews.

To create AI headshots, users must first choose 8 to 12 photos of themselves, including close-up selfies with a variety of backgrounds, facial expressions and angles, then select their gender. You will choose a template image that shows the general style and composition of the photos you want to generate. For generating professional shots, there are a number of options available under the resume sub-item, but other styles are available, such as trendy, travel, casual, and the questionable Korean aesthetic, among others.

The AI ​​will take several minutes to generate hits. When you’re done, you can swipe left and right while viewing the results similar to how you like or dislike your possible matches on Tinder.

This process is reminiscent of another AI photo app that also went viral on TikTok last year: Lensa AI, which used your photos to create magical avatars or artistic renderings of user images. However, that app raised the alarm with artists claiming the app was using their art as workout data. Also, users have found that they can generate NSFW images with AI.

Similar to Lensa AI, the Reminis app is also free to download, but using its full feature set requires a subscription. Currently, it’s priced at $9.99 a week or $79.99 a year. (Probably, some users got around the payment requirement by starting a free trial, generating their own AI images, then canceling the subscription.)

While the Remini headshot trend exploded on TikTok, some users weren’t happy with the results of the apps’ AI. Many people found that the app was making unwanted changes to their bodies in the resulting photos. For example, some women noticed that the app was making them much thinner, while others noticed that it significantly increased the size of their breasts or cleavage.

All I wanted was some connected headers [sic], wrote TikToker @juliak528 in his video. Why AI gave me a breast job, the video description read, followed by crying emojis.

No one talks about the danger this AI trend is to your mental health and body dysmorphia [sic]observed TikToker @spookyhorrorqueen, commenting how the AI ​​was returning photos that showed a body of different sizes.

The headshot AI viral filter made me weigh about 105 pounds and that’s just plain ugly, added another creator, @northstarnotes, after the AI ​​photos made her body smaller.

Others, however, said they were using their AI skinny photos as weight loss motivation.

Mian-based Remini wasn’t immediately available for comment on whether it was working to address the mistakes the AI ​​was making. (Well, update if the company responds).

There are other concerns with the app as well, as some users thought the AI ​​results were good enough that it didn’t make sense to pay a photographer for professional photos, something that speaks to the broader implications of easily accessible AI technology.

According to the Remini website, your generative AI photos aren’t the apps’ only selling point. The app can also be used to restore old photos by adding detail, enhance face quality, enhance photo colors and tones, enhance background, and more. On the App Store, Remini also promotes the possibility of using an official Barbie filter on your selfies, to transform your photos into ones inspired by the new Barbie movie.