Thinstagrams! The slimming tricks celebrities use to look so trim in their social media selfies
- Cheap, easy-to-use apps manipulates photos to make subjects look thinner
- Some nip in your waist or boost your curves while leaving friends the same
- But as these celebrity photo 'fails' prove, not every result is foolproof
Serial offender: Lindsay Lohan. The dark line of paint on the wall gets thinner around her tiny stomach
Getting a slim figure to show off to your social media followers demands an iron will and a gruelling exercise routine.
Or you could just press a few buttons on a smartphone app.
There is now a raft of cheap, easy-to-use software that automatically manipulates photos to make their subjects look thinner. And even celebrities, it seems, aren't immune.
But the so-called 'skinny filter' apps can leave telltale signs – and when you're sharing the images with millions of fans on Instagram or Twitter, chances are that someone will spot them.
That was the case when selfie-obsessed Karen Danczuk posted images on Twitter which showed not only that she looked thinner ... but so too did the lightshade in the background, prompting accusations that the whole image had been squeezed.
Popular apps include Facetune, Beauty Mirror, Spring and SkinneePix, which has the slogan 'it's our little secret' and claims to 'make your selfies look five, 10 or 15lb skinnier in two quick clicks'.
Some apps nip in your waist or boost your curves while leaving friends untouched – but as these celebrity photo 'fails' prove, not every result is foolproof...
Miranda Kerr
Nipped in: Miranda Kerr claimed she didn't know the picture (left) had been altered from the original (right)
Look how the carpet in the picture, bottom left, bends in while Miranda's waist thins. The bookshelves, bottom right, look warped, too. And the Victoria's Secret model claimed she didn't know the picture, top right, was altered from the original, top left, when she posted it online in 2013, saying: 'I screen-grabbed it off the internet.'
Distorted: The lines on the carpet bend in as Miranda's waist thin, left. Right, the bookshelves look warped
Beyoncé
Wonky: In this picture, the area around her thighs is disfigured – unless Beyoncé has a curvy iPhone
Despite being praised for her curves, Beyoncé, 34, seems to have been Photoshopped more than once. In this shot from a 2014 golfing trip in the Dominican Republic, below, her thighs look minuscule but the irregular and blurry grass between her legs is a giveaway. In the picture above, the area around her thighs is disfigured – unless Beyoncé has a curvy iPhone and wonky wine glass...
Slim plins: Here, her thighs look minuscule but the irregular and blurry grass between her legs is a giveaway
Lindsay Lohan
Warped: In this picture from March, the door appears to bend strangely around her thighs and buttocks
Actress Lindsay Lohan, 29, seems to be a serial offender. In January, she posted a picture in which the dark line of paint on the wall gets thinner around her apparently tiny stomach. In March she shared this image, above, in which the door bends strangely around her thighs and buttocks. And a month later she showed herself exercising on a yoga mat with a peculiar kink.
Strange bend: A month later Lindsay Lohan showed herself exercising on a yoga mat with a peculiar kink
Karen Danczuk
It's not just selfie queen Karen Danczuk, the estranged wife of MP Simon Danczuk, who appeared thinner in an image she posted on Twitter last month – the lightshade behind her did, too. It looks as if the 32-year-old may have used a filter to stretch the image, making her – and her furnishings – seem taller and slimmer.
Selfie Queen: It looks as if Karen Danczuk, the estranged wife of MP Simon Danczuk, may have used a filter to stretch the image, making her – and her furnishings – seem taller and slimmer. Left, without being stretched
Lady Gaga
The singer, 29, may have stretched herself in more ways than one in this picture. The floor in her gym looks uneven and wonky – and so does her stomach. Perhaps more time in the gym and fewer photos could be the way forward.
Stretched, in more ways than one: The floor in her gym looks uneven and wonky – and so does her stomach
How it's done
The Spring app claims it 'naturally slims your body', which is a new use of the word 'naturally'. Users open a photo in the app then position lines over their shoulders, hips and ankles, and the program makes them taller and slimmer. Users also manually outline the face to readjust the head size and can also stretch their neck to keep the body in proportion.
Quick fix: The Spring app claims it 'naturally slims your body', which is a new use of the word 'naturally'
... And here's how you do it the other way
Kelly Brook
Actress Kelly, 35, hit a bum note with an enhanced shot of her backside. After her followers noticed something was up, Kelly immediate posted the original photo, claiming the doctored version was inspired by Kim Kardashian's famous derriere.
Owning up: After followers noticed something was up with this photo, right, Kelly immediately posted the original photo, left claiming the doctored version was inspired by Kim Kardashian's famous derriere
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