If you are using social media regularly, chances are you鈥檝e come across some artistic renditions of other users over the past few days. That鈥檚 thanks to the latest viral sensation Lensa AI, a photo-editing app using artificial intelligence to create what it calls 鈥渕agic avatars鈥. Having been fed 10 to 20 photos of any person, the app uses the open-source Stable Diffusion model to create realistic avatars of that person that look like they were made by an artist.
Over the past weeks, the app shot up the rankings on Apple鈥檚 App Store and Google Play, becoming the most-downloaded 鈥渇ree鈥 app in many countries by December 7. Why 鈥渇ree鈥? Because there ain鈥檛 no such thing as a free lunch, and sure enough users eventually have to pay at least $3.99 for their own 鈥渕agic avatars鈥. There are some impressive results floating around though, which is why users are excused for being tempted into paying the fee to find out what their digital counterparts look like. And many do, apparently.
According to app analytics firm , Lensa AI is also quickly climbing the 鈥淭op Grossing鈥 app ranking on the App Store, meaning it is creating more revenue through app sales or (in this case) in-app purchases than almost any other app at the moment. As the following chart shows, it took Lensa less than a week to climb from rank 161 to 1 in the United States, while following similar, albeit slightly delayed trajectories in other countries.
No viral app comes without its fair share of controversies these days, however, and Lensa is no exception. From privacy concerns, potential to claims that the app is stealing 鈥 Lensa鈥檚 rise to prominence has not come without complications.
