PSA: Gradient, the viral celebrity look-alike app, is kind of a scam

If you’ve spent any time on social media lately, you’ll know that one of the latest trending things is using an app called Gradient to compare your selfies (or any images) to celebrities. That’s fine if it’s harmless fun, but the latest trend for Gradient is users complaining about shady credit card charges.

Yikes, that’s not a good look at all.

That trending app that compares your selfies to celebrities is probably a big ole scam

Image: KnowTechie

Available for both Android and iOS and endorsed by the Kardashians about a week ago (via paid ads on their Instagram Stories), the app rocketed to the top of the app store with 8 million downloads. It seems that seeing celebrities being paid to see which other celebrities they look like is smart marketing.

What isn’t smart is the suckering of users into premium subscriptions. Gradient immediately charges after the three-day free trial ends. It’s also charging different amounts on Google Play ($3.99 per month, $19.99 per year), versus the App Store ($4.99 per week, $19.99 per month). That’s pretty sketchy.

Best Buy: Preorder the Meta Quest 3

Get Asgard’s Wrath 2 free when you buy Meta Quest 3. Also, get a 6-month trial of a Meta Quest+ VR subscription when you purchase a 512GB headset. Act fast, limited-time offer.

Preorder Now

• Gradient compares your selfies to photos of celebrities, telling you who you “look like”
• It comes with a “three-day free trial,” with users suckered into a $19.99 monthly subscription as soon as the trial ends
• The app has grossed over $1.1 million so far in the App Store alone

Gradient’s tagline is “You look like,” but based on the pricing model alone, that tagline has a silent “a mug” at the end…

What do you think? Did you try the Gradient app? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Bloom is a creepy new iPhone app that uses AI to let you make edits on your face
• Human skin could be the next great smartphone innovation
• Tech Hangover: The Monday Edition
• It’s proven: Dark mode really saves battery life on OLED phones, especially iPhones

Meet Therabody's All-New TheraFace Mask

TheraFace Mask is a breakthrough FDA-cleared LED skincare mask with added tension-relieving vibration therapy. Clinically proven results include firmer, smoother, healthier-looking skin with a visible reduction in fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven tone in as little as 8 weeks

Learn More

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.