ART Lab conducts meetings with customers all over the globe. While needs may vary by country, customers usually share the same concern: "How effectively can SkinChat protect our customers' personal information?"
Concerns about AI data collection are on the rise globally. AI collects extensive data for learning which can include sensitive personal information such as photo data, leading to concerns about how it's being utilized. According to CNN on April 6, 2023, with the development of AI chatbots and their widespread adoption, new data privacy issues are emerging.
Since its inception in 2019, ART Lab has consistently focused on protecting personal information. Alongside technological growth, efforts have been made to safeguard sensitive information provided by users. These efforts are evident in the SkinChat product. Read on to clarify any questions that you may have related to our personal information privacy practices.
1️⃣ SkinChat does not use sensitive information and instead reacts sensitively to personal information.
SkinChat is not a product that is meant to identify individuals. Therefore, there is no obligation to protect personal information based on the "sensitive information" criteria in South Korea (where SkinChat was developed). However, we still make sure to collect only necessary information to minimize any user discomfort. First, we perform anonymization on the customer's device (phone or computer) before transmitting it to the server for a skin analysis, ensuring that the customer's photos are not exported externally. Then, unnecessary parts of the skin are excluded, and the face is divided into five regions to store data. If you wish to use SkinChat for B2B services and find the option to save photos inconvenient, you can remove it.
* Currently, SkinChat uses the 4th approach to privacy.
2️⃣ The SkinChat manufacturer, ART Lab, holds multiple patents for personal information protection.
One of the prominent patents is "Device and method for Cartoonizing facial data to guarantee anonymization" (Um Taewoong, Lee Hoonjae). This technology is a system that encrypts the photo data required for skin analysis by storing it as a cartoon right from the start so that it can only be opened in its original form when absolutely necessary.
The need for personal information protection is expanding. A clear example of this is "AI profiles." Many consumers use cartoonized images as their profiles to maintain anonymity while retaining distinctive characteristics. ART Lab holds a technology patent that represents detailed skin and procedure information in a cartoonized form and restores the original when a password is entered. (Patent Application 10-2023-0030092)
3️⃣ The SkinChat manufacturer, ART Lab, continues to research the anonymization of customer information.
ART Lab is developing additional technologies to protect the personal information of its customers. First, we are developing a technology that allows the skin analysis process to be completed on the customer's device, thereby making it possible to analyze skin without leaving photo information and reducing concerns about the misuse of personal information.
Secondly, we are researching a technology that separates facial shape and skin texture information and stores only the information necessary for skin analysis, transmitting it to the server. In simple terms, we are researching a technology that can separate one's appearance and skin type, which will help reduce discomfort related to the exposure of one's appearance.
*This schematic is from the paper "On Learning 3D Face Morphable Model from In-the-wild Images (Luan Tran, Xiaoming Liu)". Our technology only uses information from the skin map, and the structure information will be deleted for security purposes or stored only on the customer's device.
As technology advances, many people fear that personal information leaks may occur in areas they are not aware of. ART Lab acknowledges these concerns and aims to alleviate worries related to photo information protection, which is an essential aspect of the skincare business.