There is a new app king and it’s called Remini, which has dethroned Meta Platforms’ Threads to become the most popular free-to-download title in Apple’s App Store in the US. What it does is simple: Use AI to generate photos of users in different situations, including headshots, wedding dresses and even portraits with AIgenerated babies.

In the last 30 days, Remini has seen over 22 million worldwide downloads, according to data from app analytics firm Apptopia while data.ai says Remini took over Threads on July 10 and the app saw 2,131,000 US downloads across iOS and Android in the past 10 days.

Remini is different from the other popular app that took over conversations in December — Lensa AI from Prisma Labs. It creates avatars of users as if they are in Renaissance-style paintings or as space travelers.

Remini AI Photo Enhancer allows users to turn boring selfies into perfect headshots or make them appear immaculately attired or, like we mentioned earlier, with AI-generated babies. There are endless options.

It’s not a free app but it does offer a trial period. Available on Android and iOS, you need to agree to the subscription package through Google Play or App Store but you can always cancel it before seven days are up. In this period you can create as many AI-generated images as you want. The first time you generate a series of AI images, it will take around eight minutes, which comes down to around one in subsequent efforts.

Remini is not a new app but information around it remains sparse. The website mentions that it is an app developed in Milan, Italy. It was launched in 2019 with the objective of enhancing photo clarity, that is, make blurry images clearer. Only last year was the generative AI angle added and in May, inclusion was made of the ability to choose from preset themes. Since then, more templates have been added. On Lensa, you get images that are highly stylized but on Remini things are realistic.

Many people are uploading headshots to their social media pages using Remini and they appear quite professional. I tried and easily succeeded turning my Chandramukhi-aloo face into the Kufri Jyoti variety. The bigger question involves safety and privacy.

Remini requires you to share selfies and access your phone’s gallery. It’s a similar situation with Lensa and other apps. Photos are generated online and then downloaded back to your gallery. The photos are probably kept encrypted on the company’s servers and facial data processed for AI images and the AI depictions are deleted from the servers after 30 days but how comfortable are you with this?

The app has taken TikTok by storm and now uploads are being seen on other social media platforms, which also highlights how much the conversation has moved away from Meta-owned apps.

Further, Remini is more userfriendly than, say, Midjourney, which continues to be in the news. Remember the recent photo of the Pope in a puffer jacket created using Midjourney?

Social media enthusiasts are also using Canva’s Magic Edit, a free AI tool, to edit out casual or unprofessional outfits and backgrounds.