Just recently, a student at a school that I presented at brought to my attention an app called “Nudifier.” Originally designed as an entertainment/comedic app, it is now being used by some online peer-aggressors as a weapon to “shame” specific targets online.
The original design and intent of the Nudfier app was to alter someone’s photo to produce a pixilated picture of a person’s groin or chest area that, and so this turns it into a picture that we often see as pixilated to hide one’s private parts. Now viewers of the photo are made to believe it is in fact a naked picture (sext) when, in actually, it is not. The app is able to morph clothing so that it appears as skin color behind the pixilation, no matter what the color of the clothing or skin of the individual.
This proactive student brought to my attention that the app allows any picture taken with an iPhone to be “nudified.” So when a peer aggressor takes a picture of their target, they will “nudify” it and then post it online not just as a joke, but rather for the very deliberate purpose and intent of “shaming” a person.
As with any app, one thing designed to be funny can also be used as a digital weapon in the wrong hands, and now it appears that peer aggressors are using the Nudifier app for evil rather than fun. Nudifer is but one of an entire class of apps that allows a user to pixilate a normal picture. As always, parents should be aware of all the apps that their children are downloading and how they are being used. Something innocent can turn harmful very fast.
Digital Food For Thought
Darren Laur
AKA #thewhitehatter
