New Profile Pic app: Is Russia collecting Facebook users' personal data?

It’s a new internet craze which transforms your Facebook profile picture into a painting or cartoon.

But there have been warnings the viral New Profile Pic app could be connected to Russia.

Here’s everything we know about the app.

The viral New Profile Pic app could be connected to Russia, it has been warned (Image: New Profile Pic app, Google App Store)

Is New Profile Pic connected to Russia? Is it a scam?

Linerock Investments, the company behind the free app, is registered in Moscow, according to the offshore leaks database run by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

However, a spokesperson told the Independent top management of the company is not based in Russia.

They said: “The address on Moscow River is the address of lawyers who registered the company. We have never had an office there”.

What is the New Profile Pic Facebook app?

Currently the top free photography app on Google Playstore, New Profile Pic has more than one million downloads.

It promises users “profile pictures that are always in tune with your mood!” and has a 4.8 rating from 43,000 reviews.

As well as upgrading their own selfies, many people online are using it on photos of celebrities.

What Facebook data is being collected on the New Profile Pic app?

But, by downloading the app, users share personal data including their social media photos, social media information, location, and details about the device they’re using.

Cyber expert Jake Moore told MailOnline: “This app is likely a way of capturing people’s faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of and based in another country.

“Regardless of where they are based, I would always err on the side of caution when handing over sensitive data as once it has gone it is virtually impossible to gain control of it back.”