With phone-holding sticks, self-enhancing photo-retouching apps, and celebrities selling books made of nothing but personal portraits, the selfie era is peaking. But proceed with caution—not every selfie is as honest as it appears.
Deleting a blemish, squeezing a waistline, or adding a flattering filter are all common (and seemingly innocent) tactics members of the smartphone generation take to enhance their appearance in digital photos, but some are taking retouching to the extreme—transforming photos of themselves to look like totally different people.
The video below shows a woman using the Chinese iPhone app MeituPic. It has standard filters, border options, and crop tools, but unlike other selfie-editing apps, it also comes equipped with a retouching feature that smooths and covers acne, sharpens chin lines, whitens teeth, and, as proven by the demonstration, can morph your natural features into an unrecognizable face.
