A popular Google app that shows you your 'art doppelganger' has sparked concerns that the firm is secretly collecting data on people's faces.

The feature on Google's Arts & Culture app reads facial features from uploaded selfies and matches them with faces in famous works of art.

The software has unleashed a frenzy of activity online as users post images of their painting lookalikes, but some have dubbed it a 'facial recognition database'.

Scroll down for video

A popular Google app that lets you find your 'art doppelganger' by uploading a selfie (pictured) has sparked concerns that Google is secretly collecting data on people's faces

GOOGLE'S ART DOPPELGANGERS Selfie fans have become obsessed with the new Google Arts & Culture app feature, which was introduced as part of a recent update. The software reads facial features from uploaded selfies and matches them with faces in famous works of art. Some have expressed concerns that Google is using the feature to store images of people for its photo recognition database. Google told MailOnline that uploaded images aren't used for any other purpose and are deleted after the match is made. Advertisement

Google's Arts & Culture app is designed to recognise works of art and give virtual tours of famous museums.

Its developers silently added the new face-matching update this week, though it is currently only available to US users.

People must take and upload a selfie instead of using one from their camera roll, and the technology then matches the photo to five similar faces in paintings.

Over the past few days, selfie fans have become obsessed with the new software, posting a number of hilarious matches to Twitter.

Highlights include a woman who found herself compared to a representation of 'death' in a painting by 18th century British artist George Romney.

But some have expressed concerns that Google is using the feature to store images of people for its photo recognition database.

American actress and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted: 'I mean, this google app that matches your face to a piece of fine art. Anyone suspicious of just surrendering your facial recognition to google or are we confident they already have that at this point?'

Policy expert Yousef Munayyer wrote: 'The intern at Google who came up with this to dupe users into sending in images for its facial recognition databases is probably getting promoted....'

Some have expressed concerns that Google is using the feature to store images of people for its photo recognition database, including American actress and activist Alyssa Milano

User @HalpernAlex wrote: 'Congrats to everyone who used the Google Arts and Culture app today and is now in the NSA facial recognition database'

The software reads selfie features and matches them with faces in famous works of art. Highlights of split snaps shared on Twitter include a woman who found herself compared to a representation of 'death' in a painting by 18th century British artist George Romney (pictured)

Google told MailOnline that uploaded images aren't used for any other purpose and are deleted after the match is made.

But that hasn't convinced everyone, with some claiming the feature is a sign the US is becoming a 'surveillance state'.

User @ctwalkup1 tweeted: 'The Google Arts and Culture app is just the next step in surveillance state facial recognition. And I’m going all in because I want that sweet sweet social media validation.'

User @HalpernAlex wrote: 'Congrats to everyone who used the Google Arts and Culture app today and is now in the NSA facial recognition database.'

Policy expert Yousef Munayyer tweeted: 'The intern at Google who came up with this to dupe users into sending in images for its facial recognition databases is probably getting promoted....'

Google told MailOnline that uploaded images aren't used for any other purpose and are deleted after the match is made. This Twitter fan was impressed with a match with Abu Dhabi artist Mohammed Al Mazrouie

@ctwalkup1 tweeted: 'The Google Arts and Culture app is just the next step in surveillance state facial recognition. And I’m going all in because I want that sweet sweet social media validation'

Golden Age painter Jan van Neck's Cornelis painting is a dead ringer for this lady, according to Google's technology

@ham_linds saw her facial features transformed into a male character in an anonymous painting in the Riijksmuseum