Everything You Need To Know About the Lensa AI App

Artificial intelligence has officially entered the chat. In the last few months, the world has been preoccupied with conversational AI in the form of ChatGPT. A human-sounding AI chatbot that responds to your queries with speed and relative intelligence. But there’s been another wave of AI technologies gripping the masses - AI image generators. 

Lensa AI is one such app. An all-in-one image editing app that turns selfies into AI-generated images.

In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the Lensa AI app. Including how it works, what “magic avatars” are, pricing, compatibility and whether it’s safe to use. 

To jump ahead to a section, choose from the table of contents below: 

• What is the Lensa AI App?
• How Much Do Magic Avatars Cost?
• Lensa AI Features
  • Fix skin blemishes
  • Perfect eyes every time
  • Edit the background of any picture
  • Filters and effects
  • Object removal
• Lensa AI App: A Guide for Android, iOS and macOS Users
• What Are the Ethical and Moral Concerns of Lensa AI?
• Free Alternatives to Lensa AI
• FAQs

What is the Lensa AI App?

Lensa AI has gained steam as a photo editing tool for Android and iOS.

It allows users to perfect their selfies by touching up facial expressions, removing unwanted objects and adding a host of different photo filters and themes from an extensive library of art styles. 

In addition to photo editing, videos are given the same treatment and you can even create music videos.

There’s plenty here to excite digital creators and individual users alike.

But it's a more recent feature that has been blowing the internet up. Something Primsa have dubbed "magic avatars".

You might have noticed some funky profile pictures on Twitter and the likes that show celebrities and friends as reimagined AI magical avatars.

By uploading 10-20 photos, Lensa AI can generate 50-200 avatars in 10 different styles and themes.

From anime characters to sci-fi to fairy princesses, superheroes, cyborgs and more. 

The app was developed by Prism Labs and launched in 2018, following the success of its debut app, Prisma, which launched in 2016.

And things are going pretty well so far.

According to app analytics site Sensor Tower, Lensa AI has generated over $29 million in revenue from over 22 million user downloads.

So, it’s safe to say that Lensa is a hit with consumers.

How Does the Lensa AI App Work?

Lensa AI runs on the open-source deep learning AI model, Stable Diffusion. The open source element means that any company can use Stable Diffusions text-to-image AI without needing a license.

And the deep learning aspect denotes how the model works. In essence, it scrapes millions of images from across the internet, which it then compiles into a database and then uses the images to learn and apply techniques to generate digital art. 

This might sound like a bunch of jargon but you don’t need to be a tech wizard to use Lensa AI’s features.

All you have to do is upload your 10-20 selfies and the latent diffusion model will do the rest.

A few minutes later (expect to wait up to 30 minutes due to the high processing demand), you’ll have a batch of AI-generated selfies completed in a variety of styles.

How many you get depends on which Avatar pack you opt for.

Which we’ll talk about now.

How Much Do Magic Avatars Cost

If you head over to the App Store or Google Play Store, you'll no doubt spot the word "free" next to the app title. Unfortunately, you'll also notice the phrase "in-app purchases" too.

Yes, Lensa AI is not entirely free despite its self-proclamation.

Instead, you can initiate a 7-day free trial, and then further use costs either $29.99 per year or $7.99 per month.

The annual price is the better deal, of course, and unlocks all of Lensa AI’s premium editing tools.

At this point, you might also be wondering whether you can use the Magic Avatars feature as part of your free trial.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you will have to pay in order to access the avatar packs during your trial period.

Although Lensa AI does offer tempting discounts for newcomers to help sway your decision.

The pricing is as follows (subject to change):

• $3.99 for 50 unique avatars (5 variations of 10 styles)
• $5.99 for 100 unique avatars (10 variations of 10 styles)
• $7.99 for 200 unique avatars (20 variations of 10 styles)

There’s also a host of other access and avatar options but these are the main ones. 

Lensa AI Features

On top of the ability to generate cool-looking avatars, Lensa AI also lets you edit and alter your images using a suite of tools.

Let’s look at some of these now. 👇

Fix any skin blemish

If you want to achieve a flawless-looking selfie (and who doesn’t), then you’ll be a fan of this one.

👉 Lensa lets you smooth out skin imperfections that enhance your complexion, remove blemishes and even retouch your neck.

Perfect eyes every time

We all get tired, but no one wants to show it in a photo.

👉 Lensa AI’s magic retouch feature can remove eyebags, alter and refine eyebrows and create perfect eye contrast.

Edit the background of any picture

You can edit the foreground and background of a picture separately.

👉 So, if you want the subject to have more prominence, then you can blur the background to add depth of field.

Certain backdrops can be changed too, for example, the colour of the sky. 

Filters and effects

If you use Instagram or Snapchat, then you know all about filters and how they can enhance an image.

👉 Lensa offers you plenty of different art styles and effects to choose from, including

• black and white
• cartoon
• salty
• dramatic
• retro
• watercolours 
• and more! 

Object removal

Something in your way?

Pesky distractions can really spoil an otherwise great picture.

👉 Use the object removal tool to get rid of unwanted objects or people, and the AI will fill in the gap for a seamless blend. 

Lensa AI App: A Guide for Android, iOS and macOS Users

Whether you consider yourself a digital artist or not, the process of transforming realistic photos into artistic images is incredibly easy with the Lensa AI app.

Here’s what you need to do:

1️⃣ Download the Lensa AI app on your chosen device. 

2️⃣ Open the app up and navigate through the welcome messages by hitting "Next" until you're asked to "Get Started" with a membership plan.

If you’re solely interested in using the Lensa AI Magic Avatar tool or want to explore the editing capabilities before committing, then select the 7-day free trial.

3️⃣ Tap on the "Try Now" button below the Magic Avatar page and hit “Continue". The app will ask you to consider some risks before proceeding, here’s what it says:

“The type of AI we utilise for Magic Avatars may generate artefacts, inaccuracies and defects in output images - it’s out of our control. So please acknowledge and accept that risk before continuing.”

Poor grammar aside, you will need to accept these terms before you can start generating avatars. 

4️⃣ Now you'll have to upload 10-20 selfies but they need to meet certain requirements. Don't cover your face, use group photos, send explicit pics, show animals and keep the angels close-up with varying poses and in a variety of backgrounds.

5️⃣ Next, select your gender and then choose how many avatars you would like Lensa AI to generate. See the previous pricing section for reference. 

6️⃣ The app will now upload your images to its servers and work its magic. This can take a short while if the servers are busy but you can ask to be notified when complete to avoid hanging around on the screen. 

7️⃣ Voila! Your unique avatars have been created in a variety of themes and styles for you to enjoy and share.

New profile pic, anyone?

What Are the Ethical and Moral Concerns of Lensa AI? 

It’s no secret that since the Lensa AI’s Magic Avatar feature launched, there has been a tide of scrutiny over ethical and moral objections.

Namely, these are privacy concerns over the use of personal data and whether the AI-generated art is essentially ripping off the hard work of genuine artists.

If you google the Lensa AI app now, you’ll see plenty of results that talk about these very topics.

Let’s split these questions up.

First, what are the ethical concerns?

If you’re like most people, you don’t read privacy policy documents.

You just click “agree" and enjoy whatever it is you’re trying to do.

In Prism Labs’ case, they have come under fire for how they can potentially store, manage, edit and share your personal data, including facial imagery. 

The Lensa AI app explicitly states that within 24 hours, all user images are immediately deleted after they have been uploaded to the Google and Amazon cloud servers.

❗️ Your images are used to train the AI model (which is common practice for any AI tool service provider) and then they’re gone.

Lensa AI will also collect data that may be used for third-party sharing and track your activity across apps.

Again, this is completely standard practice for everything you interact with online, whether that’s a website, an app or a service.

You can read the privacy policy and terms of use here if you want to opt out of data collection, email privacy@lensa-ai.com. 

Lensa also advises not to upload any images of children or any type of nudity to the app. The problem some users are experiencing, particularly female users, is that Lensa AI has a tendency to generate hyper-sexualised images of them, regardless of what has been uploaded.

In addition to promiscuous or sexist imagery, the app can also generate offensive material, in some cases racist... 🤔

Much of this can be attributed to the unfortunate truth that the internet is full of poor-taste imagery, and Lensa AI (among many other AI art generators) collects and utilises this data. 

So what about the second concern - whether AI digital art devalues the integrity of real artists or outright steals their intellectual property?

On one hand, text-to-image AI opens the door for anybody to create beautiful digital art without hard skills.

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On the other hand, this removes the necessity to commission real-life artists for a piece of art; it makes it all too easy to just do it from the comfort of your device.

In the long term, this could make it difficult for artists to sustain their profession or at least profitably. Some artists also argue that their hard-earned digital art is merely being stolen by AI bots and remixed for commercial use. 

Needless to say, it’s a divisive topic and one you’ll no doubt have your own thoughts on. 

Free Alternatives to Lensa AI

AI image generators are becoming increasingly popular. As this fascinating technology improves and becomes more mainstream, you’ll find hundreds of competitive apps fighting for the top spot.

A lot of which are paid.

But if you want to test photo-editing software before committing, where do you go?

Here are 3 free-to-use image editing tools you can try today:

1. Fotor
2. GIMP
3. Pixlr

Final Thoughts

Lensa AI is a big hit, but not without its controversy.

With it, you can generate fantastical avatars and use photo editing tools that make even an amateur feel like a graphic designer.

AI is evolving and entering our everyday spaces, which opens the door to criticism about ethical behaviour and whether AI is good for certain creative professions.

Ultimately, these apps are designed to be a bit of fun and help people create art but there’s a consideration for the wider implications of its use.

FAQs

What are magical avatars?

They are surreal versions of your portrait. If you submit a bunch of images to Lensa AI, it can generate a selection of magic avatars based on different themes, including sci-fi and anime. 

How does Lensa AI work?

It uses an advanced AI image generator model called Stable Diffusion. This model transforms your images into digital art. 

Is the Lensa AI App free?

It is free to download but you have to pay if you want to use the Magic Avatar feature. This is priced from $3.49 upwards. 

*sources

• https://growthtribe.io/blog/chatgpt
• https://prisma-ai.com/lensa
• https://app.sensortower.com/overview/1436732536?country=US&metric=units&utab=summary&tab=about
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lensa-ai-photo-editor-video/id1436732536?platform=iphone
• https://land.prisma-ai.com/magic-avatars/
• https://stability.ai/blog/stable-diffusion-public-release
• https://stablediffusionweb.com/
• https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lensa-ai-photo-editor-video/id1436732536
• https://prisma-ai.com/privacy
• https://tos.lensa-ai.com/terms
• https://www.fotor.com/
• https://www.gimp.org/