{
  "id": 9191214,
  "title": "Viral AI 80s photo trend: Delhi Police warns ‘nostalgia’ could be a trap",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/viral-ai-80s-photo-trend-delhi-police-warns-nostalgia-could-be-a-trap",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-22T19:07:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/viral-ai-80s-photo-trend-delhi-police-warns-nostalgia-could-be-a-trap-1.500684288"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Delhi Police has cautioned social media users about the potential security risks associated with a viral AI trend that transforms current selfies into 1980s-style portraits. The trend has gained traction on platforms like Instagram and X, where users upload selfies to AI tools like ChatGPT and request the creation of portraits with retro hairstyles, clothing, lighting, and vintage effects. While the results can appear remarkably realistic, the police warn that what seems like harmless nostalgia could actually expose users to identity misuse, fraud, and blackmail.\n\nThe trend works by users uploading a clear selfie and entering a prompt asking the AI to recreate their appearance in an 80s style. Unlike older photo filters, generative AI can create a new image entirely while preserving the person's facial features. However, the police stress that users should exercise caution before sharing personal photographs with unknown AI tools.\n\nDelhi Police advises users to think twice before uploading their personal photos, as they could be misused to create fake profiles, facilitate blackmail, or enable cyber fraud. The advisory also warns against clicking random links offering trendy AI filters, which may be designed to trick users into revealing personal information or photographs.\n\nFacial features can constitute personal data, and uploaded images may contain metadata such as the date taken, device used, and location information. Backgrounds can reveal additional details like house numbers, street signs, vehicle registration plates, workplaces, or other people in the frame. For ChatGPT consumer accounts, OpenAI's data policy states that conversations, including uploaded images, may be used to improve its models unless users opt out through their settings.\n\nTo protect their photos, users are advised to check privacy and data-control settings before uploading, use temporary chats if appropriate, crop out unnecessary background details, blur identifying information, avoid uploading identity documents, private records, or intimate images, and refrain from uploading photographs of other people without their permission. Users should also avoid unknown websites or apps offering similar AI filters and disable the \"Improve the model for everyone\" setting if they do not wish to contribute to model improvement.",
  "summary": "Delhi Police has warned social media users about the security risks of the viral AI trend that turns current selfies into glamorous-looking 1980s portraits. The trend has spread rapidly across Instagram and X, with users uploading selfies to AI tools such as ChatGPT and asking them to recreate their portraits with big hairstyles, period clothing, neon or studio lighting and vintage film grain.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}