A popular TikTok trend of using filters that make people act out has been removed from the platform after the BBC reported that it had sparked a wave of criticism from users.
Known as the "chubby filter," this artificial intelligence (AI) tool takes a photo and alters its appearance to make people appear fatter.
Ahead of its removal from the platform, TikTok users told the BBC that the filter should be banned.
Many shared their "before" and "after" pictures, with jokes about how different they looked.
However, there are those who say that this is a form of mockery of appearance and should not be allowed.
Experts have warned that the filter could fuel a "toxic food culture" online and potentially contribute to eating disorders.
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TikTok said the filter was made by CapCut, which is separate from TikTok but has the same parent company, ByteDance (ByteDance).
"We are reviewing videos on the app that have used this filter and it is leaving a notice that they are inappropriate and blocking them from the teenager's account," TikTok told the BBC.
Any videos that violate the platform's guidelines, for example, depicting bullying or harassment, will be removed, they added.
Sadie, who has 66.000 followers on TikTok, is one of those who has called for this "vicious" filter to be banned.
"It seems like girls are saying, 'Oh, I won because I'm skinny and wouldn't it be the worst thing in the world if I was fat?'" says the 29-year-old from Bristol.
She claims she has been contacted by women who said they deleted TikTok from their phones because the trend made them feel bad.
"I don't think people should be made fun of for their bodies just because they opened this app," she said.
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Dr Emma Beckett, a food and nutrition scientist, told the BBC that the trend was a "huge step backwards" in terms of the stigma surrounding obesity.
"It's the same false stereotypes and tropes that larger-bodied people are lazy and phallic, and something that should be avoided at all costs," she says.
She warned that this could have a wider social effect.
"The fear of gaining weight contributes to eating disorders and body dissatisfaction, fuels a toxic food culture, makes people obsess over food and exercise in unhealthy ways, and exposes them to fraudulent products and fad diets."
"And it puts pressure on everyone to conform to very narrow standards of beauty and health, instead of finding what works best for their body - that's detrimental to everyone's physical and mental health," she said.
"Harmful" and "toxic"
The BBC spoke to a number of TikTok users who said they found the filter extremely unpleasant.
Nina, who lives in North Wales, said it seemed to her that it was following a "narrative" that is spreading online and trying to link people's appearance to their self-esteem.
"It's a toxic view of things that I thought we were starting to move away from," she told the BBC.
"If a filter is clearly offensive, then it should be removed," she added.
Emma, who lives in Ayr, agreed.
"My first thought when I saw the 'chubby filter' was how harmful it would be."
"People were basically saying they looked disgusting because they were 'chubby' and for someone who is a curvy woman and basically looks like the 'after' picture on this filter, it was extremely disheartening for me."
Nina said she was happy to see people criticizing the trend, which she called "amoral and insensitive."
"We should be supporting each other, not making fun of each other because of our appearance," she said.
Sadie agrees that the filter should not be allowed.
However, she believes there are other things TikTok could do.
"Maybe there should be a warning."
"If there are themes of mocking appearance or eating disorders or anything like that, I think there should be a way to flag the filter if people want to post it, but then not have it imposed on the wider audience," she said.
Testing the "chubby filter"
Jess Sherwood, BBC Social News
Filters that use artificial intelligence to manipulate appearance are common on TikTok.
Many are harmless - for example, one popular trend makes people look like they're made of Lego bricks.
Often their authors have no connection to TikTok, which seems to be the case with this new "chubby filter."
Some of the most popular videos that used this filter received tens of thousands of likes.
For the purposes of this article, I tried the filter on myself.
I felt terribly uncomfortable.
For someone who has a very positive attitude towards their own body and has had issues with their own self-image in the past like me, its use couldn't be further from how I personally use social media and I was unhappy that TikTok forced it on me in the first place.
The filter only appeared on my "For You" page one day, despite me not having interacted with any weight or health-related content.
After watching the video and reading the comments, that was it - TikTok's algorithm works in such a way that it started suggesting similar videos of other people who used the filter, and even another filter where artificial intelligence can make you look thinner.
Fortunately, he also started showing me authors who criticized the trend, some of whom we spoke to for this article.
AI images and filters have become commonplace on TikTok and have quickly been embraced for entertainment - in the same way that some Gen Zers and millennials may remember Snapchat filters.
But filters like this, while they may seem fun, can be very harmful to someone's mental health and encourage them to compare themselves not only to others, but also to unrealistic versions of themselves.
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