Wombo

Last updated
WOMBO
Other namesWOMBO.ai
W.ai
WOMBO.I
Developer(s) Akshat Jagga, Angad Arneja, Ben-Zion Benkhin, Paul Pavel, Parshant Loungani, Vivek Bhakta
Initial releaseFebruary 2021;3 years ago (2021-02)
Operating system Android, iOS
Type Deepfake
Website wombo.ai
w.ai

Wombo (stylized as WOMBO) is a Canadian image manipulation mobile app released in 2021 that uses a provided selfie to create a deepfake of a person lip-synced to a variety of songs. Although, it shut down on May 3rd, 2023, for copyright issues.

Contents

Features

WOMBO allows users to take a new or existing selfie and then select a song from a curated list to create a video that artificially moves the selfie's head and lips in synchrony with the song. [1] [2] The app works for any and all images that resemble a face, [3] although it works best for three-dimensional characters where they are looking at the camera straight on. [4] These songs are usually related to internet memes, and included "Witch Doctor" and "Never Gonna Give You Up". [1] The head movements created are from existing choreography recorded by a performer who produces specific eye, face and head movements for each song, [3] and are mapped onto the inputted image through artificial intelligence being used to tag the parts of a human face. [4] All outputted videos include a large, obvious watermark, and aim not to look too much like the video is real.

The app includes a premium tier, which gives users priority processing time and no in-app ads. [1]

Wombo processes images in the cloud, unlike earlier apps such as FaceApp. [2] CEO Ben-Zion Benkhin says that all user data is deleted after 24 hours. [5]

Development

Wombo was developed in Canada and launched in February 2021 [1] after a beta period in January. [6] Wombo CEO Ben-Zion Benkhin says he got the idea for the app in August 2020. [1] The name of the app comes from the slang term "wombo combo" from console game Super Smash Bros. Melee . [1] The app is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. [7]

Reception

Within its first three weeks of release, the app was downloaded over 20 million times, [5] and over 100 million clips were created using the app. [2] The sudden boom in deepfake technology has been described as "a cultural tipping point we aren't ready for", [2] as it is now possible to create a deepfake from any picture off social media in a very short amount of time.

Related Research Articles

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Lip sync or lip synch, short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human image synthesis</span> Computer generation of human images

Human image synthesis is technology that can be applied to make believable and even photorealistic renditions of human-likenesses, moving or still. It has effectively existed since the early 2000s. Many films using computer generated imagery have featured synthetic images of human-like characters digitally composited onto the real or other simulated film material. Towards the end of the 2010s deep learning artificial intelligence has been applied to synthesize images and video that look like humans, without need for human assistance, once the training phase has been completed, whereas the old school 7D-route required massive amounts of human work .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lumia imaging apps</span> Imaging applications for Lumia devices

Lumia imaging apps are imaging applications by Microsoft Mobile and formerly by Nokia for Lumia devices built on the technology of Scalado. The Lumia imaging applications were notably all branded with "Nokia" in front of their names, but after Microsoft acquired Nokia's devices and services business the Nokia branding was superseded with "Lumia", and often updates included nothing but name changes, but for the Lumia Camera this included a new wide range of feature additions. Most of the imaging applications are developed by the Microsoft Lund division. As part of the release of Windows 10 Mobile and the integration of Lumia imaging features into the Windows Camera and Microsoft Photos applications some of these applications stopped working in October 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selfie</span> Photographic self-portrait

A selfie is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer or remote. The concept of shooting oneself while viewing their own image in the camera's LCD monitor is also known as self-recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Hangouts</span> Communication software by Google

Google Hangouts was a cross-platform instant messaging (IM) service developed by Google. It originally was a feature of Google+, becoming a standalone product in 2013, when Google also began integrating features from Google+ Messenger and Google Talk into Hangouts. Google then began integrating features of Google Voice, its Internet telephony product, into Hangouts, stating that Hangouts was designed to be "the future" of Voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Facetune</span> Mobile photo editing application

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Meitu Inc. is a Chinese technology company established in 2008 and headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian. It makes smartphones and selfie apps. Meitu's photo-editing and sharing software for smartphones is popular in China and other Asian countries, attracting 456 million users who post more than 6 billion photos every month. As of October 31, 2016, Meitu's apps have been activated on over 1.1 billion unique devices worldwide. According to App Annie, Meitu has been repeatedly ranked as one of the top eight iOS non-game app developers globally from June 2014 through October 2016, together with global Internet giants such as Alibaba, Apple, Baidu, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Tencent. MeituPic, their top app, has 52 million active daily users and 270 million MAU. On December 15, 2016, Meitu went public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FaceApp</span> Photo manipulation application

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deepfake</span> Realistic artificially generated media

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Khalifa (song)</span> 2018 single by iLoveFriday

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Deepfake pornography, or simply fake pornography, is a type of synthetic pornography that is created via altering already-existing photographs or video by applying deepfake technology to the images of the participants. The use of deepfake porn has sparked controversy because it involves the making and sharing of realistic videos featuring non-consenting individuals, typically female celebrities, and is sometimes used for revenge porn. Efforts are being made to combat these ethical concerns through legislation and technology-based solutions.

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Colossyan is a technology company that uses generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to create corporate training videos.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vincent, James (11 March 2021). "Lip-syncing app Wombo shows the messy, meme-laden potential of deepfakes". The Verge. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Fowler, Geoffrey A. (25 March 2021). "Anyone with an iPhone can now make deepfakes. We aren't ready for what happens next". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Move over, Deep Nostalgia, this AI app can make Kim Jong-un sing I Will Survive". The Guardian. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  4. 1 2 Griffin, Andrew (11 March 2021). "What the 'deepfake singing' app everyone is using is really doing with your photos". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 Williams, Jennifer (26 March 2021). "App allows users to make deepfake videos of friends or celebrities". FOX 5 NY. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. Asarch, Steven (2021-03-12). "Wombo.ai lets users make silly deepfake videos of their friends or celebrities singing songs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  7. Diaz, Ana (10 March 2021). "The Wombo app turns your favorite character into a karaoke star". Polygon. Retrieved 21 April 2021.

It shut down in May 2023.