Ghibli Trend & The Risks It Poses

Blog, Informative Blogs / By TechGiraffe / April 8, 2025

If you are a social media enthusiast, you are probably aware of the subject I am talking about from the blog-post title itself. If you are not into any social media platform, then you should stick to the blog for a fascinating trend and its risks. In this blog post, we will explore the “Ghibli Art” trend and how it may invade your privacy!

What Is Ghibli Art?

The name “Ghibli” comes from the renowned Japanese animation studio “Studio Ghibli”, which is famous for its hand-drawn animation. The iconic Studio Ghibli Inc is based in Koganei, Tokyo. Founded 39 year ago on June 15, 1985, the studio is known for movies like My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princes Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2002) and The Boy and The Heron (2023).

How Does “The Ghibli Art” Become Trendy?

The latest update of Chat GPT, a generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool developed by Open AI, introduced a feature that allows users to convert any image into a Ghibli-style animated image. As soon as this update was made public, it spreads like wildfire and a trend of “Ghibli Art” starts across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and X. Profession from various fields, including politicians, athletes, actors and industrialists, shared their Ghibli-Art style animated photographs on social media platforms, making it instant trend. The post on X by Sam Altman, the CEO and co-founder of Open AI, gives you an idea of how widespread the Ghibli-Art trend is.

Privacy Risk That Hide Behind The Ghibli Art Trend

Regardless of the reason we humans often tend to flow with the trends, and right now, the Ghibli Art trend is gaining popularity. Millions of images are being converted into animations for sharing in the virtual world which is also known as social media. However, only a small portion of the image owners are aware of or trying to understand the risks associated with this trend. It’s important to recognize the potential consequences we may face due to the Ghibli Art trend. I have tried to explain the concern of cybersecurity experts on the Ghibli-Art trends very simply.

Privacy: When you take a photo with your smartphone, it not only captures the photograph but also gathers information such as your device details, location, timestamps, and many other invisible information. This information can easily reveal your personal information when you upload the image. Additionally, these images are often used to train the AI for purposes like surveillance and advertisement. Have you ever noticed that when you think of buying a product, advertisement for it starts to appear on your smartphone? If this has happened to you, Please think about it and share your thoughts in the comment box!

Deepfake Scam: Millions of images have already been uploaded for animation, only to be shared on social media, but many people may not consider the potential consequences of these actions in the future. These images can be used for deepfake scams. The facial recognition data we provide online can also be misused on the dark web. You can read our blog on deepfake scams by clicking the link “How Deepfake Technology Fuels AI Deepfake Scams and Tips for Protection from Scams.”

The Image Ownership: When you convert an image into a Ghibli-Art animated photo, questions regarding the ownership of the image arise. There are no definitive guidelines regarding whether the AI platform or the user holds the authority over the resulting image. Hence, the ambiguity of ownership will always exist. Furthermore, the extant to which the images are being transformed into Ghibli inspired animation, the chances of infringing on a user’s intelectual property increaes, as the same type of image may be used used multiple times.

Terms & Conditions: Cybersecurity experts have warned that images uploaded for conversion into anime may not be deleted after single use. The term “Deletion” in the “Terms & Conditions” may not be entirely convincible. The policy regarding storage of images by the AI platform remains unclear.

National Security: The data of nation’s citizens is critical and must be protected for national security. Sensitive information, such as facial recognition data and details related to user devices, should be kept confidential to prevent cyber threats from hostile nations or PIOs that may aim to destabilize the economy and security.

Conclusion

Anything can become a trend if a majority of people begin to embrace or follow it, whether it’s fashion, dance steps, acting, or something else entirely – the list is endless. As human beings, most of us don’t want to feel left out. Let’s take the Ghibli–Art animation trend as an example, where many people began creating animated version of their portraits as soon as their friends and people known to them started to sharing these images on social media. Most of the people are embracing the Ghibli-Art in the fear of missing out, in short FOMO. One should always adapt to trends or upgrade accordingly, but it is essential to be aware of the potential consequences in the near future, such as increased surveillance or targeted advertising. The facial recognition you have provided for a mare animation may have cost you valuable data that can be sold or used for the training of AI bot, but not for your benefit.

Call to Action

Have you tried the Chat GPT Ghibli–Art animation generator? What are your thoughts on user privacy? We would love to hear your feedback on how we can better protect data privacy. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box or reach out to us by clicking the mail icon. We look forward to see you in the next blog!

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply