For several weeks now, there has been a lot of media coverage of the Prisma application. What's interesting is that its innovativeness does not arouse interest, although it cannot be denied, since thanks to unique algorithms and filters each of our photos can turn into a unique work of art.

Having such images we can count on an extremely kind reception both on Facebook and Instagram. Unfortunately, we can lose as much, because the application gains access to data, which we are not in a hurry to share. Familiarization with the privacy policy makes the application lose significantly on its charm. The creators have high expectations towards users who want to use the solution proposed by them. The main focus here is to share all user content that is generated by the application. Prisma can also send us e-mails about updates and technical changes, and we have no chance to give up such a service. The license for content that is stylised through the application is also of concern. The wording in this section is not very clear, but in practice it means that if we have generated some images using the application - Prisma can do everything with them, including reselling them to some other company for advertising purposes. However, this is not the end of the possibilities that we offer, as the permissions of the application also apply to information about the websites we visit. In practice, the developer can find out what kind of sites we have used, how many times we have been on them and how long it has taken. Of course, this data can also be used for advertising purposes.

Is Prisma safe?

Prisma also gains the right to our location data. Sharing this information is always quite risky, as it helps to physically locate an individual user anywhere in the world. Again, it is used primarily to provide you with better-fitting advertisements, but it cannot be ruled out that this data will be used in at least several other ways in the future. It can always be intercepted by others, and we would certainly prefer to avoid this. Another power that may be of concern is the access of the application to our mailbox. So the application can check which emails we open and which ones we immediately throw in the trash. Other data, which do not seem to be needed by the application to format images, are related to the information about the unique device identifier. This number is available on every iPhone. Of course, also in this case the purposes are typically marketing, because this number can be used to target ads even more effectively. Since there are so many rights that Prisma gains, it is hard not to ask yourself whether there is anything to be afraid of.

People who care about protecting their privacy certainly have reasons to be concerned. Of course, you can't overdo it either, at least some of the powers listed here have also been granted to Facebook, and yet we don't uninstall it en masse. The confusion that Prisma has caused should make us think about the actual price of programs promoted as free, because we can be sure that they are not fully free. Application developers have certain obligations to advertisers, and they expect them to both personalize and accurately target their ads.

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