How to Develop a Face Swap App Like Reface?

Updated 15 Nov 2022
Published 17 Aug 2021
Rahul Mathur 2903 Views
How To Develop a Face Swap App Like Reface

Would you like to become Ironman, and fly on an adventure with the Avengers? Doesn’t seem possible! Well develop a face swap app like reface, everything is possible.

Technology has given us many things, be it in the field of engineering, healthcare, or the entertainment industry. And with every new technology, the world becomes more convenient and entertaining.

However, some apps are only made to provide you with better entertainment. Be it a social media application or video streaming apps surfaced over the internet.

However, some applications were purely developed to bring a smile to the user’s face. With the meme world slowly taking over social media and creating trends that intrigued everyone. 

Reface app development

To inculcate the meme world into the world of applications, many companies started to create applications using which memes and funny videos could be created. And in no time many applications were created that allowed users to create and edit videos and photos to make them funny.

One such application that was created along with the other apps was a face swapping app called Reface. The Reface app allowed the users to swap the face of friends, family, or themselves, with celebrities or with funny characters. 

What is Reface App?

Do you remember those days?  When you were casually scrolling through your social media account. And suddenly came across photos of friends and followers, that have been swapped with a celebrity’s face or a funny cartoon character. There is a lot of face swap app in which you can check what celebrity do you look like.

They seemed very funny and entertaining right, and then suddenly many memes surfaced on the internet where faces of people were swapped to make it into a light funny joke. To be honest, every one of us couldn’t stop ourselves from creating a video or GIF of ourselves too.

And reface, was the application that made it all possible. The credit for the idea of refacing app development goes to NEOCORTEXT, Inc.

Reface is an application that is controlled by Artificial Intelligence. The AI was programmed to swap the faces of any two people with each other in seconds. Reface was first launched as Doublicat in the early half of 2020 and became the best app of the year on the Google Play Store.

The app touched a user count of 19.5 million in July of the same year and reached 68 million in two months. And as of July 2021, it has reached more than 100 million.

The download count of this app was surprising, and it quickly skyrocketed due to its increasing popularity. The reface-like app development was covering the entire market drastically.

reface like app development
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How does the Reface App work?

The Reface app development uses deep fake technology which is further embedded by AIs to provide enhanced results. The user interface of the application is very simple and easy.

A set of pre-recorded videos and GIFs are available on the applications. The user needs to select any one of the templates he wants to swap faces with.

Then, they need to upload a high-definition photo of the face that has to be changed and placed in the video. The automatic crop tools of the app filter out the face from the uploaded photograph, and then within seconds, the faces are swapped.

Inside the application is that the deep fake technology scans the facial expressions of the photo with the help of integrated AI and then places the graphics onto the video or the GIF while also removing the facials graphics of the pre-existing template.

mobile app development

The Reface app development has two versions one is the free version that plays ads after a few conversions, while the other is a premium version that allows the users’ new videos and GIFs to swap faces with. It also allows users to save pre-added photos to save themselves from uploading pictures again and again.

Once the editing is finished, the swapped photograph can be saved. But the thing with the free version is that it allows users to download edited photos and videos, but the photos and videos have a watermark embedded in them. However, the premium version does not have any watermark on the photos or the videos. 

The application is available to be downloaded from the Google Play Store or any other independent platform. Currently, the Reface app ranks 17 in the Google Play Store.

The Reface app development allows it to work on Android devices as well as iPad and iPhones. The efficiency of the application is maintained on any kind of device.

The application size is less than 25MB for android users, whereas, for iPhones and iPads, it’s less than 110MB. 

How reface-like app gains popularity?

The reface like app development suddenly gained popularity as it overtook the editing world by storm. This ingenious idea of swapping people’s faces become so popular over the world, that many people started to create similar applications and gain popularity.

The apps like Reface quickly surfaced as people started to use them more frequently as they did not require any kind of editing skill or professional requirements.

Therefore, they provided better quality editing, and it took no time. 

Reface app development

With the increase in users, exponentially, these platforms’ revenue increased instantly. In the year 2020, it gained a funding amount of $6.5 million, which was more than any other similar app in the industry.

With such credibility and growth in the market, everyone wanted to create similar apps like the Reface app and grab the attention of the world. 

The Social world is growing at an exponential rate and with applications like these being developed every day, people are getting more content to watch and enjoy.

Therefore, let us understand what all it takes to build face swap like reface.

What are the ways to monetize the application?

One of the ways to monetize the reface-like app development is to keep a subscription fee for certain premium features. The best way to compel the users to buy the premium subscription is by integrating it with more premium features that will give them better filter options and some premium templates that will make the content funnier and more entertaining.

Everything about the apps like reface is about entertainment. You can also build a trial version of the application with all the premium features; then, after the promotional duration ends, the user can buy the subscription to enjoy the templates or filter. As of July 2021, the application earned a revenue of $1million every month.

One of the most frequently monetizing techniques that are spread in the app development market, is the inclusion of ads in the trial version of the application. The user that does not have a subscription has to watch ads to proceed further with the swapping phase.

This app will allow you to earn a definitive profit from the advertisement employers. If the users skip ads by purchasing the premium version, then also is the possibility of making.

One crucial factor that you should always keep in mind is that the user will only be ready to pay you only on one condition. There should be something unique about the premium features, that they will be compelled to pay a certain sum for it. 

How to develop a Face swap app like Reface?

It is not easy to develop face swap like reface. It takes careful integration of AIs with different deep fake technology. The editing features that help map one face to another are very complicated and must be carefully developed to provide the best results.

There are many applications developed that are aimed at providing the features of the Reface app.

However, none of them offered better quality, and neither was the layout of the application user-friendly. According to the analysis, the app saw 1 million downloads in June 2021.

, let us understand what features and specifications must be integrated with the application to make it similar to the Reface app.

develop a face swap like reface
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Better Face Editing Features

One of the essential features that the application must include is its ability to study facial expressions and provide the best face editing feature. The face editor integrated into the application must-have features such as cropping, rotating, and retaking.

Apart from these basic features, the editor must also have other video editing features such as adjusting saturation, contrast, brightness, and sharpness.

The editor must scan the uploaded photo for facial expressions, and the AI must detect the faces in the photo and remove any extra features that can hamper the swapping process.

The Face Editor is an essential part of the face-swapping application; therefore, if you want to make it better than the Reface app, the best thing will be to automatically adjust features and apply automatic editing features that will provide better results.

Embed a search tab

Everyone likes it when any web application or android application allows us to find the thing and filter quickly, we are looking for. Therefore, to develop a face swap like reface, you must embed a search tab into the application. A search tab is essential as it allows the users to quickly jump to the video template or the GIF they are looking for.

It makes the entire application user-friendly. The search tab also shows the videos or GIFs currently trending over the internet and must categorize the videos according to their subject.

They can be arranged according to the celebrity they showcase, scenes of a particular movie, or the time of the videos or GIFs.

To and Fro easily unloadable

What benefit will it cause if the content created over the application could not be uploaded by the user on any other platform? The videos or the pictures that have been curated using the application must have a general format to be easily uploaded through camera app to any other platform.

The application should also allow the users to upload their videos and pictures to be uploaded. This will give the users a personalized space and allow them to use more creative ideas to create content. 

Security

The most important factor of any application is the security it provides. When you develop a face swap like reface, keep in mind that the user’s videos are first and foremost secure on the application. A user will only use your application if it protects the private contents and videos of the user.

develop a face swap like reface
freepik.com

Therefore, make your application safe and secure. The best way to ensure safety and security is to provide a login module so that only the user that has access to the account can view, edit, download, or share the content. 

Provide personalized filters and videos

It is essential to understand what the user wants from a particular application. Therefore, when you know the needs and requirements of the users, you can embed the application with the features that the users require. However, it is not possible to create a different part for another will, enabling the user.

Still, you can constantly personalize the application with the help of search-optimized AI’s that looks after the interest of the users and provide the content and videos accordingly. When an application includes personalization for a particular user, the users feel valued.

Therefore, when a user is valued, it increases their engagement with the application and increases the visibility of the applications across social media platforms. 

Originality

Why will a user move over to your application and not stick to the previously established app that already has similar features and is trusted by many other users?

Curiosity is one thing, but the best way to add fuel to the curiosity is to provide some aspects in your application that are original and not copied from any other application.

The only way to attract new users is to learn from the current application and then use that knowledge to make something better than the application you have learned from.

Therefore, you can quickly develop a face swap like reface, but the best thing will be to add certain original features that will become the highlight of your application.

Should allow the user to share videos

The one thing that the application, like refacing app development, should integrate is the sharing feature that the application must have to share the videos and GIFs across different social media platforms.

Firstly, it allows the users to share their content easily. It is the main reason the user has installed the application, following the trend and showing it to their friends across social platforms.

Secondly, the user is the advertising agency of the application. When a user shares the content created by the reface-like app, it will automatically attract new users.

Additionally, it will increase the brand name of the application. Remember from where did you hear about the Reface app? Social media.

Therefore, understand the power of social media and embed features into the application that allows cross-platform sharing. 

refacing app development,
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Download the videos for offline viewing and delete them

No one gets the correct type of content they want in the first go. Everyone wants to do two-three takes and then chooses the best from them.

The users should also be able to download the videos created over the application. This allows them to edit the content further as sometimes, they want to enhance the video filters or remove them. Therefore, the application must always have the download as well as the delete feature. 

Advanced search option

An application like the reface app development must have advanced search capabilities, allowing the user to filter their search. Sometimes, the users want to search content based explicitly on popularity, language, or any other specification.

Therefore, the application must be able to provide such control and filter processing to the user. This feature makes the application very user-friendly.

The advanced button must always clearly show the filtering options so that the user can quickly enter their preference and increase the accuracy of their search. 

Community guidelines for Face swap app like Reface

One of the most important factors to keep your application safe for everyone should always follow specific community guidelines. A user should not face any problems while accessing different kinds of templates. Every template must fall under the community guidelines to not be hurt by any video or photos.

The application like the reface like app development should filter out any harmful or content that has violence or goes against the community guidelines and should immediately remove it.

Visually Appealing

A user is always attracted by the visual appearance and the logo of the application. It is psychologically accepted that the application with a visually appealing layout must have better features.

Therefore, you should use this to your advantage while developing the application. Along with being visually attractive, the application must also be user-friendly and easygoing. 

Better Tutorial

The reface app development application should be inbuilt with a demo tutorial session, which will allow the user to become aware of every feature of the application.

If a user is not familiar with all the application features, he will not be able to grab all the benefits and create better quality content.

Therefore, a demo session is essential when the user logs in to the application for the first time. 

reface-like app development
medium.com

The specification required to run the app

The Reface application can run on any of the android and iPhone devices. Therefore, let us understand the most miniature system requirement to run the application.

  • A space of 22MB on android devices and free space of 110MB on cloud spaces from iPhones.
  • The minimum android version required to run the application is Android 5.1 or higher. It can run on any iPhone platform.

Only users who are above the age of 17 are allowed to use the application because the app has in-app purchase features. Therefore, an adult must administer when the user is below the age of 17.

How much does it cost to develop an app like Reface?

The most critical factor determining the cost of developing any app solely depends on the time it takes to create and design the app’s layout. When you want to build a face swap like reface, developing such an application takes around three to four months.

This is the time required to go through every step of developing an application, such as writing a general project layout, researching, designing, and deploying. 

build a face swap like reface

Therefore, a freelancer would generally charge by the hour, and any mobile app development company would likely do it on a contract basis. Therefore, a rough amount would lie between $70,000 to $100,000.

However, both ways have pros and cons. A freelancer will keep you involved at every step, while the organization will ask for your one-time instructions and provide you with the finished product.

But to develop face swap app like reface company will take less time to develop the app, whereas a freelancer will take more time.

Therefore, always choose wisely, and always keep in mind who will fulfill your needs better.

Related- Top 5 Celebrity Look Alike Apps

Which technologies should you use to develop the app?

The part of Artificial intelligence is essential in Reface app development. It is programmed to visualize all the facial expression into an algorithm and successfully map it into the videos. However, the AI must be integrated with deep fake technology to allow easy transmission of the mapping.

However, one other important factor of the application is that it must include a cloud service to ensure that the application works faster.

The Google API is one of the most effective services that can be integrated into the application. The API of Google pertains to the links that are developed between the user account and the server. 

mobile app development

Understanding Generative Adversarial Networks, also known as GANs, works to create a network of integrated data used to build comparisons between different images and then synthesize them for better results.

The GANs form the design of the application algorithm responsible for enhancing the application’s visibility. It compares the neural network between two different images and then synthesizes them to create another, more refined image.

Conclusion

The demand for face swap apps has increased exponentially over the past few years. The Reface app compelled the industry to create something user-friendly and also provides better results in no time.

Therefore, if you are trying to develop a face swap like reface, keep the points discussed above in your mind, design the best app that benefits you, and become a source of entertainment for others.

Rahul Mathur

Rahul Mathur is the founder and managing director of ARKA Softwares, a company renowned for its outstanding mobile app development and web development solutions. Delivering high-end modern solutions all over the globe, Rahul takes pleasure in sharing his experiences and views on the latest technological trends.

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