With Snapchat Cameo you can now deepfake yourself into popular videos

If you thought deepfakes were a problem, we have news for you. Snapchat is basically going to be using the same machine learning principles to let you put your face on other people's faces in popular videos, GIFs etc. The aim is to make it look like you are starring in the videos.

Called the Snapchat Cameo, it is a level-up from the Bitmojis you have been using so far and the button to make the video actually lies as a Bitmoji keyboard shortcut in Snapchat.

Snapchat will be using the simple selfie as the source material and will let you pick from a bunch of looping videos. The feature will then deform your face to match that of the actor's in the original video and superimpose it to make it look like you are actually playing the role yourself.

However, it is not going to be as intensive as some of the deepfake videos we have seen online and people will be able to distinguish the fact that your face has been superimposed. The purpose is benign and expected to be used for entertainment only.

This is essentially what separates how Snapchat intends to use deepfake versus the malicious content on the web that have been used for fake news. Some of the best deepfake videos are almost indistinguishable from the original content and have been used to spread misinformation.

This is Snapchat putting a 'fun' spin on the deepfake controversy that has been taking over the media. And this is also going to let Snapchat distinguish itself from other social media apps that pretty much have the same bunch of features on offer. The only possible competition can come from Instagram that does have the option of live videos, camera access etc.

Some French users got to try the test version of the Snapchat Cameo and the company has announced that they will be launching the feature globally on December 18 across Android and iOS.

How to make Snapchat Cameos (once it launches)

You take a selfie for Snapchat to figure out what you look like and you also pick a body type - male or female (there is no androgenous option). The Cameo will then be accessible from the Bitmoji button in the Snapchat keyboard.

You can pick from 150 short looping videos that Snapchat will start with (adding new ones each week) and Snapchat will then 'stretch' and 'move' your selfie to create facial reactions that Cameo will apply on the actor's head in the video.

Then you can share the video like you share pictures or normal videos via Snapchat messages. You can opt to enable multi-friend cameos to see yourself in one with friends. You can always retake your selfie and tap and hold on Cameos to save them to your camera and share them on other apps.