Not only are tools like ChatGPT attracting a ton of attention on the internet, but the Lensa AI app is another new AI-powered tool making waves with its mind-blowing AI-generated avatars. It uses your selfies to create images in distinct art styles and variations. Social media is flooded with Lensa-generated images that look almost dreamy. So if you want to learn about the Lensa AI app, how it works, and whether it’s good or bad, follow our explainer below. We have also added instructions on how to use the Lensa AI app on Android, iOS, and macOS devices.
In this article, we have explained everything about the Lensa AI app, what are its features, whether it’s safe to use or not, and finally, how you can generate magical avatars using the app. You can expand the table below and move to any section you want.
- What is Lensa AI App?How Does Lensa AI App Work?Lensa AI Magic Avatars PricingHow to Use Lensa AI App on Android, iOS, and macOSLensa AI Privacy: Is It Safe to Use the Lensa AI App?Lensa AI App Controversy: Replacing Artists in the Real World?
What is Lensa AI App?
Developed by Prisma Labs, Lensa AI is a powerful AI-based app that lets you generate surreal avatars using your selfies. The app calls its latest self-portrait generation feature “Magic Avatars,” and it uses the Stable Diffusion deep-learning model to create dreamy selfies in various art styles. Used in numerous AI art generators, Stable Diffusion is a text-to-image generative model and utilizes images, like your selfies, to develop its image model.
Yes, Lensa AI is a paid app by Prisma Labs. To generate 50 self-portrait avatars, you need to pay $8 (Rs 190). And the service costs $12 (Rs 290) and $16 (Rs 380) to make 100 and 200 magic avatars, respectively. The app is available on Android, iOS, and macOS.
To use Lensa AI, download the app on your iPhone (Free, offers in-app purchases) or Android phone (Free, offers in-app purchases). It’s also available on macOS (Free, offers in-app purchases), so you can use it on your MacBook as well.
I am using the Lensa AI app on my Android smartphone for this demo, but the steps are similar for iOS as well. After installing, open the app and swipe through the initial pages by tapping on the “Next” button. Then, tap on “Get Started”. Here, you will be asked to subscribe to its monthly or yearly plan. You can choose to start your AI avatar journey with a 7-day free trial.
Next, tap on “Try Now” below Magic Avatars and tap on “Continue”. Here, the app says that AI-generated images may have artifacts and defects, so assess your decision before continuing. It’s recommended to import images of different variations to get the best result.
On the next page, it will show examples of good and bad selections of photos. Basically, you need to upload 10 to 20 close-up selfies with a variety of backgrounds and facial expressions. Do not upload covered faces or group photos.
Now, upload at least 10 selfies to the Lensa AI app. Add more photos if you want a diverse set of AI-generated images.
Next, choose your gender.
Finally, you need to purchase how many Magic avatars you wish to generate using the Lensa AI app. I have chosen 50 unique characters, but you can pay more to get more avatars in different art styles and variations.
Now, the app will start uploading the images to its cloud server, building an AI model for your images, and churning out avatars.
The Lensa AI app will take 20 to 30 minutes to generate the images, so you need to wait for a while to see the results. Tap on “Notify me when it’s done” to get a notification.
Finally, after the Magic avatars are generated on the Lensa AI app, you will get beautiful images like these. There are several categories, including Mystical, Sci-fi, Cyborg, Stylish, Anime, Rock Star, Superhero, Adventure, Astronaut, and Cosmic, to choose from.
Lensa AI Privacy: Is It Safe to Use the Lensa AI App?
To generate magical avatars, you need to upload at least 10 to 20 selfies. So when you upload your personal images to an app, you should always be careful about the privacy implications. Well, Prisma Labs, the developer of the Lensa AI app, is based out of Sunnyvale, US and the company claims that all uploaded images are immediately deleted after the avatars are generated.
Besides that, in Lensa AI’s app listing on the iOS App Store and the Play Store, the company has disclosed that it may use some identifiers to track you across apps and websites and may share app activity data with third parties. Apart from that, according to its Terms of Use, if you choose to use the Lensa AI app, you grant Prisma Labs a perpetual license to “reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works from and transfer your User Content.”
Ok I’ve been seeing people posting about the privacy issues with Lensa AI, and I thought I’d share some helpful tidbits from the TOS and privacy notice:1. You’re helping them train their AI2. They convert your photos to face data, which they claim to not retain BUT if you worry— Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) December 4, 2022
Apart from the privacy implications, there are some other controversies that have plagued Lensa AI, especially its AI algorithm. As WIRED noted in a recent article, the Lensa AI app generated “several fully nude results despite uploading only headshots.”
Not to mention, as TechCrunch reported, Lensa is making it easier to create topless images of celebrities. The NSFW filter gets disabled when using photos of models photoshopped with celebrities’ faces, which is a controversial issue that Prisma needs to look into. Finally, the AI-generated photos of females are highly sexualized due to the skewed nature of the AI model.
