Meitu has blown up on social media over the past few days thanks to it's adorable filter that essentially makes everyone look like a flawless, baby-faced character from Harajuku. 

The app has been big in China for a number of years, but the gimmick has just caught on in the wider world.

The beauty app allows its users to smooth and whiten skin, sort out spots, slim down the face and create anime-sized eyes. 

However, some people have become alarmed at the amount of data permissions that you have to enable in order to use the app.

The app can access your calendar, internet browser history, take photos and videos, location, read phone call status and caller identity, read, modify and delete the contents of your photo USB storage, control phone vibration and prevent the phone from sleeping. 

It’s normal for apps to need to access different elements of data and enable functions on a phone so they can run properly. 

However, "they are collecting some very odd data that shouldn’t be looked at necessarily for the application functioning, ” Greg Linares, a security researcher at threat management firm Vectra Networks told Wired.

While there is no evidence to show that Meitu is a scam, that is a worrying amount of information to part with.

The app has been running since 2008 and is massive in China,  and is currently worth billions.