How People in China Are Licensing Their Faces to AI for up to INR 14 Lakh
In China, people are licensing their facial likenesses to AI content creators for short dramas and ads, earning up to 99,999 yuan (approx INR 14 lakh). Platforms like Yuanxiang Xinsheng and Xinzhua allow users to set prices and ban genres. However, legal experts warn over unequal contracts, high withdrawal penalties, and biometric privacy concerns.
Artificial intelligence is turning human faces into a new class of digital property, with a growing number of citizens in China putting a price on their personal likenesses. Dedicated digital platforms are allowing individuals to register their facial features and offer them to AI content creators for integration into short microdramas, advertisements, video games, and virtual productions. On specialised marketplaces, listing fees for personal likenesses reach as high as 99,999 yuan (approximately INR 14 lakh).
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the emerging commercial sector offers individuals greater autonomy over how their biometric appearances are deployed across synthetic media. Participants can establish their own pricing tiers, specify the authorised duration of use, and impose contractual exclusions on sensitive or objectionable content categories. However, the commercial expansion has simultaneously prompted serious legal debates regarding digital consent, privacy protections, and user vulnerability once biometric data enters open marketplaces. Are AI Cooking Robots Taking Over Chinese Kitchens?
Transition From Private Chat Groups to Digital Marketplaces
Private “face-selling” transactions, previously confined to informal film and television production chat groups, have rapidly transitioned to public commercial platforms since April. These digital hubs allow users to build verified likeness portfolios, while AI production houses search for specific facial profiles that align with their creative scripts.
The arrangement offers everyday individuals an opportunity to generate passive income from their appearance without being physically present on a film set. The National Business Daily reported that one bank employee earned nearly 2,500 yuan (approximately INR 35,000) after an advertising company purchased the rights to his portrait seven times within three days. Ultra-Bionic Robot At World Robot Conference 2026 in Beijing Priced At USD 17,000, Wows With Human-Like Blinking (Video).
Digital Actor Profiles and Granular Usage Controls
Among the prominent services driving the sector is Shenzhen-based Yuanxiang Xinsheng, which launched in May. After completing identity verification, users establish “digital actor profiles” where they outline explicit usage parameters, including the length of authorisation, secondary adaptation rights, and prohibited genres. Listed fees on the platform range from 50 yuan (approximately INR 700) to 99,999 yuan (approximately INR 14 lakh).
Many users utilise these controls to protect their digital identity. A 34-year-old user surnamed Chen charges 99 yuan (approximately INR 1,400) for a single use of his face, permitting his appearance in romance and family dramas while strictly prohibiting horror or sexually explicit content.
Kele, a woman from Guangdong province, noted that licensing her likeness provided a proactive defense against unauthorised deepfakes, stating, “I no longer worry about AI stealing my face. If someone wants to use it, they should pay me.”
Yuanxiang Xinsheng also specifies that purchasing a face for digital video production does not grant creators permission to use the raw facial data to train AI models unless explicit consent is granted separately.
Expanding Marketplaces and Industry Segmentation
Other platforms are capturing localised segments of the synthetic media market. Xinzhua, launched in Chengdu in April, hosts roughly 370 digital actor profiles with fees ranging from 500 yuan (approximately INR 7,000) to 6,000 yuan (approximately INR 85,000). The platform categorises licenses by project type, covering television commercials, modeling, cinema, animation, and video games.
Its most sought-after digital actor is a woman surnamed Lin, who offers four authorisation packages priced at 500 yuan (approximately INR 7,000) each. Her profile permits appearances in diverse scenarios, including villain roles, revealing costumes, foreign characters, and death scenes. Xinzhua also enables creators to filter talent by age, gender, artistic style, and genre.
Legal Scrutiny Over Minor Data and Contract Disparities
While Xinzhua includes a search category for children, no profiles of minors have been published on the platform to date. Nevertheless, the inclusion has drawn scrutiny from child protection advocates and legal experts regarding the ethics of collecting and deploying youth facial metrics.
Legal scholars have raised concerns over platform agreements that disproportionately shift legal liabilities onto individual users. An analysis by The Beijing News highlighted that certain service contracts impose penalties of at least 50,000 yuan (approximately INR 7 lakh) if an individual revokes their facial authorisation early, whereas platforms face minimal financial liabilities in cases of delayed royalties or contract disputes.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2026 11:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).