An artificial intelligence (AI) “mini app” for baldness detection is one eWallet feature that the most of us certainly never thought wishing for. However, that is just what Alipay, the largest payments app in China, has debuted at this moment.

Alipay enables users to link their bank accounts to the app in order to expedite payments both online and at the point of sale, much like the majority of eWallet/payments programs. However, Alipay does much more than just accept payments.

Known as a “superapp” for citizens, Alipay offers an array of functions such as ride-sharing, bill payment, retail, social network integration, mobile phone services, coupon and travel services, and more.

The app’s most recent addition, an AI-powered hair loss detector, is a significant departure from its previous utility-based features.

An image recognition system trained on thousands of medically relevant images can scan user-submitted pictures of their scalps, according to a report from the South China Morning Post. After that, the app offers advice to users, including, if necessary, recommending medical attention.

The AI-powered “Medical Assistant” feature of Alipay, which is developed by Antgroup, Alibaba’s finance associated, was first introduced in April 2024. This suite now includes the newly introduced hair loss detector.

Convenience and simplicity are the main motivations for integrating a lifestyle services app, a medical tool, and an application for digital wallets. Though these apps are widely used in the East, North America and Europe haven’t seen a comparable uptake.

Elon Musk is among many who support the multimodal, “superapp” idea. He has often stated on record that he wants X.com to develop into an all-in-one app that rivals products available in the Chinese market.

However, privacy advocates from all around the world have been warning for some time that these apps combine user data in a way that leaves users’ security and privacy vulnerable to the whims of the app’s owner and any third parties that may access the information.

For example, the Chinese government has made it clear that it needs access to user data in the Alipay case. Building and running a database of user activity would seem to be a fairly simple task, effectively producing a real-time citizen activity tracker, even though there is no official statement on how the data is being used.