Hyper-realistic beauty filters are here to stay

The Bold Glamor filter, now used over 16 million times since its release last month, contours your cheekbone and jawline in a clean yet subtle line. It also highlights the tip of your nose, the area under your eyebrows and the apples of your cheeks. Plus, it lifts your eyebrows, applies shimmer to your eyelids, and gives you thick, long, black eyelashes. It has, as its name suggests, a glamorous effect.

The aesthetic itself is impressive. However, what is truly amazing is how well it works. The filter doesn’t block when your face moves or if something like a waving hand interrupts the visual field, as filters usually do.

@rosaura_alvrz

“You guys. That’s a problem. You can’t even tell it’s a filter anymore,” user @rosaura_alvrz lamented while patting her face to test out the filter in a review on TikTok.

Florencia Solari, creator of professional and AR filters, says Bold Glamor likely uses machine learning, and while this isn’t the first time an AI filter has made waves, she says, “Experience with these filters is so transparent and can reach a level of reality, that it’s no surprise people are freaking out.

And in fact, people panic. So how worried should we be about this world of distorted reality?

First, a little background. For years, augmented reality filters on social media sites like Snap, Instagram, and TikTok have made it easy for users to edit their photos and videos with preset features that often perpetuate specific beauty standards like plump lips, sunken cheeks, fine nose and wide eyes. .

Beauty filters, coupled with influencer culture and algorithmic amplification, have led to a rapid narrowing of beauty standards in a way that prioritizes whiteness and thinness.

Young people love using filters (the latest numbers I have from Meta show that over 600 million people have used at least one of its AR products), but there’s little research on the effects on our mental health, our identity and our behavior.