Mobile appVideo, music & mediaOriginal by Lightricks
Facetune took portrait retouching out of the professional studio and put it in everyone's pocket. Skin smoothing, teeth whitening, lighting fixes and fine adjustments to facial features take seconds thanks to tools that recognise the face automatically. The secret of its success is a natural-looking result and a before/after comparison that gives users instant confidence; for social media creators, that speed is a daily need.
Building something similar requires on-device facial landmark detection models, a warp engine, smoothing algorithms that preserve skin texture, and frame-by-frame retouching on video. Alongside the mobile app you set up subscription and trial management, remote feature flags, A/B testing infrastructure and a panel for managing ready-made presets. For privacy reasons, face data should be processed on the device wherever possible.
How Facetune works: the core user flow
How many apps and dashboards do you need?
Mobile retouching app
The main app where users retouch portrait photos and videos and use presets.
Admin panel
A team panel for managing presets, subscription offers, A/B tests and remote feature flags.
Critical features of a product like Facetune
Facial landmark detection
An on-device model marks hundreds of points across the eyes, lips, nose and jawline, and the tools work relative to those points.
Natural skin smoothing
Frequency separation reduces blemishes and redness while preserving pore texture.
Reshaping engine
Liquify-style warping fine-tunes face and body contours without distorting the background.
Video retouching
Face tracking continues on every frame, so retouching is applied across the whole video without flicker.
Lighting and makeup effects
Virtual light sources and effects such as lipstick and eyeshadow are fitted to the face geometry.
Before/after and intensity slider
The strength of each effect is adjustable, and one tap shows the original.
What goes into the first version, what comes later
First version (MVP)
- Automatic face detection
- Skin smoothing, blemish removal, teeth whitening
- Lighting and colour corrections
- Before/after comparison
- Subscription with a free trial and paywall
Later releases
- Video retouching
- Face and body reshaping
- Virtual makeup and hair colour
- AI background and outfit changes
Modules and how the budget is calculated
The budget is calculated with 360 SOFT’s pricing model from the modules below, about 18 screens and the project’s complexity: roughly 154 person-days for the full scope and 105 person-days for the first version. Every module you drop lowers the budget directly.
| Module | Phase |
|---|---|
| Sign-up, login, social login | First version |
| File, photo, video upload | First version |
| Video / voice calls | First version |
| AI features (LLM, RAG, recommendations) | Later release |
| Subscriptions and recurring billing | First version |
| Online payments (Stripe / PSP) | First version |
| Admin dashboard | First version |
| GDPR and security hardening | First version |
| Reporting and analytics | First version |
Hosting, SMS, map APIs, app store accounts and payment-provider fees are separate items. Maintenance and improvements (optional): €500 / month. We send a fixed written price within 24 hours after a free discovery call.
The hard parts
Balancing natural results
Over-retouching creates a "plastic" look; the algorithms need to perform consistently across different skin tones and lighting conditions.
Real-time video processing
Tracking the face and applying effects on every frame is GPU-intensive, so battery drain and overheating need attention.
Privacy and store rules
Face data may be treated as biometric data; GDPR-compliant privacy notices and App Store / Google Play privacy declarations must be prepared carefully.
Business model
The dominant model in retouching apps is a weekly, monthly or yearly subscription. The app offers a free trial at launch, keeps the basic tools limited, and reserves advanced retouching, video and AI features for the premium tier. Paywall design and price testing are the main drivers of revenue; team licences for professional creators can be an additional channel.
Get a free quote for your project
Let us scope it together and send a fixed written quote within 24 hours. NDA on request; you own the source code.
Choosing a company to build an app like Facetune
Most people searching “build an app like facetune” are really looking for a reliable app development company. When comparing quotes, check four things:
- Can you try similar products they have shipped, in the stores or live?
- Are the source code, design files, servers and store accounts transferred to you by contract?
- Do they show a working demo every two weeks, with written scope and acceptance criteria?
- Are maintenance, scaling and GDPR/security costs written into the quote?
Copyright and trademarks
A business model and features are generally not protected on their own, but the Facetune name, logo, interface design, content and source code are. That is why we build a product with similar functionality but your own brand, design and code. This is not legal advice; we recommend a trademark search before launch.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to build an app like Facetune?
A first version focused on photo retouching can be ready in a few months. Advanced features such as video retouching and reshaping need extra development and testing time.
Can a ready-made library be used for face detection?
Yes; tools such as MediaPipe, ML Kit or the Vision framework give you a good start. For natural results, you will need to write custom retouching algorithms on top of them.
Are there copyright or trademark issues?
The retouching app business model and tool types are free to use. The name, logo, interface, promotional visuals and code cannot be copied; this information is not legal advice.
What should I look for when choosing a retouching app development company?
Ask about experience in computer vision, on-device machine learning and subscription optimisation. Requesting test samples made with a range of skin tones is a good way to judge quality.
