Epik's AI yearbook feature goes viral, takes users back to 1990s
Actress Jung Yu-mi's AI-generated yearbook photo / Captured from Instagram
HONG KONG ― A wave of nostalgia has flooded social media feeds as people share what appear to be high school yearbook photos from the '90s. However, these aren't actual throwbacks but AI-generated creations, courtesy of a Korean app named Epik.
The Korean AI-powered photo editor has gone viral for launching an “AI Yearbook” tool that allows its users to create 1990s-style photos ― hair, clothes, background and everything ― that high schoolers back then would have taken for their yearbooks.
Since the release of this new tool, Epik has reached and stayed at the top of both the Apple App Store’s Photo & Video section and Google Play’s photography app charts.
“The app has seen a significant spike with the release of the ‘AI Yearbook’ feature,” said an official at Snow Corporation, the parent company of Epik. “We have witnessed a 30-fold increase in usage since its launch.”
To generate these nostalgic portraits, users upload eight to 12 photos of themselves onto Epik. Then the app processes these photos and delivers 60 AI-generated images, each with different hairstyles, outfits and poses ― capturing high school stereotypes such as cheerleaders, basketball players and beauty queens ― set against a backdrop that many people who went to school during the ’90s will remember.
Comedian Yoo Jae-suk's AI-generated yearbook photo / Captured from Instagram
The app offers two payment options: a standard 5,500 won ($5.99) fee with a 24-hour waiting period for photo delivery or an express 8,800 won service that delivers photos within two hours.
According to market research company Sensor Tower, Epik is believed to be making around $250,000 per day through in-app purchases.
The latest feature has sparked a considerable buzz online.
“This yearbook trend is really ‘epic’,” one user wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), while another wrote, “These AI yearbook photos are silly and unrealistic.”
Popular reality show host Yoo Jae-suk, actress Jung Yu-mi, singer Lee Hyo-rim, business magnate Chey Tae-won and former Hong Kong athlete Vivian Ma Wing-yu are some of the celebrities, influencers and moguls that have jumped on the trend and shared their pseudo-yearbook photos online.
About 90 percent of Epik's users are from outside Korea and the Snow spokesperson said the AI yearbook feature targets a wider audience.
“I think Western users feel nostalgic about retaking [their] yearbook photos. For Asians who are familiar with the yearbook concept but have not experienced such a thing, [they] can have fun with the app and ask themselves, ‘What if I was featured in a ’90s yearbook?’” she explained.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's AI-generated yearbook photo / Captured from Instagram
Epik is not the only app to employ AI for plausible photo editing. Japanese messenger app Line’s AI Teens tool allows users to reimagine themselves as cool kids, while photography app Carat: AI Profile creates studio-quality portraits
However, Epik's rise has also generated some controversy. Some critics raised concerns over the app’s potential user privacy and data security problems because of its disclosure practices and the lack of data on information sharing.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety recently announced that it will ban AI-generated portrait photos from being used on national ID cards and passports, adding that such photos violate current guidelines prohibiting the use of morphed images.