60% of Smartphone Users Reluctant to Disclose Facial Photos: Changing the Common Sense of Online Self-Disclosure
OLA PARTY JAPAN's matching app 'Yoitoki' conducted a survey revealing 61% of users resist showing their faces. The company officially launched an 'AI Mask Function' that combines automatic masking and gradual disclosure.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 3, 2026 at 03:22
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 19:34
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 05:39 (442h 4m after Collected)
OLA PARTY JAPAN Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku), operator of the next-generation matching app "Yoitoki," conducted an "Awareness Survey on Online Self-Information Disclosure" among 600 smartphone users aged 18 to 39 nationwide in February 2026. The survey results revealed that 61% answered they "feel resistance to publishing facial photos," making it clear that the nature of self-disclosure in the digital space has drastically changed. In response to this social reality, the company officially launched a new feature, the "AI Mask Function," in the same month, which combines AI-powered automatic mask processing with permission-based gradual information disclosure.
■ Development Background: The quietly progressing social change of "avoiding showing one's face"
With the spread of smartphones and the normalization of SNS, opportunities for personal facial photos to circulate on the internet have dramatically increased. On the other hand, concerns over risks such as unauthorized reproduction, leakage, and spoofing of facial photos are also growing year by year.
A survey conducted by Yoitoki within the app in February 2026 (N=600, men and women aged 18-39 nationwide) revealed the following realities:
- 61% answered "feel resistance to publishing facial photos on SNS and apps"
- 49% answered "resistance to showing my face has increased over the past 5 years"
- 68% answered "have worried about facial photos being leaked or used without permission"
- 33% answered "have hesitated to register for a matching app due to privacy concerns"
These data indicate that the premise of online communication, where "showing one's face" was considered natural, is not necessarily shared in modern times. Especially in the matching app domain, publishing facial photos has historically functioned as a de facto registration requirement, which can be said to have created a structural contradiction with rising privacy awareness.
■ The Deepening "Facial Photo Problem" in the Marriage/Romance Hunting Market
In the domestic online romance hunting...
■ Development Background: The quietly progressing social change of "avoiding showing one's face"
With the spread of smartphones and the normalization of SNS, opportunities for personal facial photos to circulate on the internet have dramatically increased. On the other hand, concerns over risks such as unauthorized reproduction, leakage, and spoofing of facial photos are also growing year by year.
A survey conducted by Yoitoki within the app in February 2026 (N=600, men and women aged 18-39 nationwide) revealed the following realities:
- 61% answered "feel resistance to publishing facial photos on SNS and apps"
- 49% answered "resistance to showing my face has increased over the past 5 years"
- 68% answered "have worried about facial photos being leaked or used without permission"
- 33% answered "have hesitated to register for a matching app due to privacy concerns"
These data indicate that the premise of online communication, where "showing one's face" was considered natural, is not necessarily shared in modern times. Especially in the matching app domain, publishing facial photos has historically functioned as a de facto registration requirement, which can be said to have created a structural contradiction with rising privacy awareness.
■ The Deepening "Facial Photo Problem" in the Marriage/Romance Hunting Market
In the domestic online romance hunting...