Genealogy service MyHeritage’s new “Deep Nostalgia” feature is bringing the past to life.
TechCrunch reports that the tool, which lets you upload photos of one or multiple people, animates individual faces. It’s all thanks to the magic of deepfakery. The results are startlingly lifelike, as we see people moving their heads around, blinking, and even slightly changing expressions.
The AI-powered results can be arresting. Seeing a loved one’s face speaking looking at you once more, smiling and emoting, is an emotional experience. So is seeing a long-lost ancestor you didn’t even know you were related to.
The short video clips are also great business for MyHeritage. Users have shared their Deep Nostalgia results left and right across social channels.
You can use the animated photo service for free by heading over to MyHeritage. However, you’ll need to sign up with an email address and agree to the company’s terms and conditions as well as its privacy policy.
In 2018, MyHeritage reported that over 92 million user accounts were exposed in a data breach. Both email addresses and passwords were pilfered during the major security event. MyHeritage’s main business is collecting DNA and providing ancestry services, which triggered major concerns over the company’s overall security.
At the time, MyHeritage staged that “sensitive data” like family trees and DNA information had been stored in a separate location. Thus, hackers had been unable to gain access.
With that in mind, despite how intriguing it is to upload a photo and see it come to life, there may be some concerns attached to using Deep Nostalgia. Given the way the service has handled customer data previously, it’s up to you to decide if a cool photo effect is worth handing over your email address and information for.
You can visit MyHeritage now to create your own photo.
