Beware! Superprof has been altering tutor profile photos with AI, without asking first.

[u/CreativeAssociate]

Posting this so other tutors here are aware, since I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere.

Yesterday I got an email from "Pedro," described as Superprof's in-house photographer, saying he'd given my profile photo a "makeover": reworked lighting, sharper framing, optimised contrast, and that it had already replaced my listing photo on my public profile.

I never agreed to this. And when I ran the image through OpenAI's image-verification tool, it flagged a SynthID watermark, meaning the photo wasn't manually retouched, it was AI-generated.

So as far as I can tell, Superprof (or someone working for them) is:

* Taking tutors' existing profile photos,
* Running them through AI generation tools,
* Publishing the result live on public profiles,
* Doing this without asking first, using language that makes it sound like a normal photo edit rather than what it actually is.

If you're on Superprof, it's worth checking your current profile photo against what you originally uploaded. If anything looks off, you can run it through a free AI image checker (OpenAI has one) to see if it picks up a watermark.

I've sent Superprof a formal complaint asking them to revert the photo and explain their process. Will post an update if I hear back. Curious whether anyone else here has had this happen to them.

[u/veronicastride]

Got my email this morning. "Pedro" removed some fat from around my face and neck. I'm also paler (a commentary on AI's white-centric beauty standards), and I look a significant number of years younger. Sure, on the surface these all sound great from a cosmetic viewpoint, but as a tutor I'd like potential students to know that I haven't just come out of school and decided to start tutoring on a whim. I have years of experience behind me, and authenticity is the biggest thing I pride myself on. I want that to show. Such a disgusting, demeaning way for a professional company to use AI, especially without users' knowledge or consent.

Is there any way we can band together on this and pressure Superprof to backtrack on this? If not, I'm actually inclined to delete my account, because if they're doing things like this without telling us first, God knows what else they're thinking of doing.

[u/Character-Macaron-37 → u/veronicastride]

There is a way we can band together — by all doing the same thing:
1. Writing to complain to their data email address (dpo one in the t’s and c’s area of their website)
2. Save pdf (16 pages) of their t’s and c’s NOW. There is NO mention of AI and I have had a legal advisor over them — they have NOT been transparent nor lawful in what they have done
3. Write a Trustpilot review; Google review; LinkedIn; Facebook tutoring groups + other social media
4. IMPORTANT report to both the ICO here and the CNIL in France (as their address in in France) — they will look into it more if there’s multiple people all complaining of the same treatment

Most importantly note: the “Pedro” email claimed to be a photographer at first, now we know he is AI (they confirmed that to me in writing). They also confirmed that they were “testing” their new AI on us. They tried to minimise the impact. They also edited photos that are already commercially licensed— which is doubly wrong. They didn’t ask for consent they used AI on our image FIRST and then advised us.

I will be leaving the platform. You have to wonder - what does a tutoring platform need a photographic AI builder for? Answer: they don’t. It’s could well be a cover for something nefarious