Take a photo of your privates to detect STIs using AI? This app is a very bad idea

Health – identify sexually transmitted infections in less than a minute using your phone’s camera: that’s the promise of Kalmara, an American app that bills itself as the Snapchat of STIs. According to their ads, all you need to do is take a photo of the genitalia that concerns you, and “ Artificial intelligence will take care of the rest

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On its pastel-colored site, Kalmara explains between two eggplant emojis that the app only works on penises, specifically “ Suspicious places “, such as lesions or redness. Kalmara also claims to be able to identify “ More than 10 types of health problems ”, thanks to AI” Up to 94.4% reliable “

A marketing strategy targeting Gen Z

Behind its catchy slogans, which very clearly target young adults, Kalmara seems to forget that many STIs are asymptomatic… and therefore impossible to identify with a simple photo. was contacted by the media TechCrunchMei-Ling Lu, co-founder and CEO of the app, justifies herself by explaining that “ Kalmara is a lifestyle product, not a medical application “, and that is his goal” To open a dialog on IST tests “

However, the Kalmara site contradicts the words of its CEO: the application presents itself as ” A tip to save money “, based on AI” Designed by doctors » The results of which make it possible to give the green light for sexual intercourse. It is only below the site that we learn that Kalmara is actually only the first step, which must be followed by a medical appointment.

Unreliable and not intimate at all

Kalmara is not the first app of its kind: it is actually a derivative of HeHealth, created in 2019, of which Mei-Ling Lu is also a co-founder. Initial questions, a photo of the penis followed by a diagnosis by AI, HeHealth works like Kalmara, except the app provides a doctor-paid diagnosis.

However, the two apps share the same monster problem – that of protecting personal data. Although Kalmara guarantees that photos disappear after results are received, its privacy policy indicates that the information it collects is shared with partners for queries. Data hosting and analysis “, or else ” Marketing “

Furthermore, as TechCrunch underlined, mode ” anonymous » that the app offers doesn’t really protect its users, photos can be traced back to email addresses or IP addresses. That failure would be even more troubling if minors were using Kalmara, because if the app says it’s restricted to people under 18, it doesn’t specify how it intends to enforce this restriction.

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