London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 04, 2025

Young People Are Using A TikTok Filter To Create Photos With Family Members Who've Died

Young People Are Using A TikTok Filter To Create Photos With Family Members Who've Died

The head of product for TikTok in the US told BuzzFeed News this creative and powerful application from users is "inspiring."

People on TikTok are reimagining how to use a popular new filter that places or "flattens" you in a photo, and it's making people very emotional.

Young TikTokers are uploading old photos of parents or other loved ones who've died so they can have current photos of them together.

Those who have used the "Green Screen Scan" effect in this way told BuzzFeed News that the experience was overwhelming and heartbreaking but also cathartic.

The Green Screen Scan imposes the user onto any photo they choose to upload in the background so that the results, or new photo, looks like one flattened image. Like many videos on the app, the filter was first used jokingly as a way to convince a parent that you were somewhere that you were not.

Soon after, a different kind of video using the filter went viral. Nineteen-year-old Alexis Puckett said last week when she was scrolling through the app and noticed the new filter on the app she "knew immediately" what she had to do with it.

Puckett used the green screen effect with the last photo she took with her dad, who died from stage 4 esophageal cancer in 2018. Her TikTok has been viewed more than 7.4 million times.

"It made me really happy to be able to see myself now with my dad because he has missed out on so much after passing, as I was only 17 when he passed," she told BuzzFeed News.


People who watched her video were just as moved by it. "That just broke me," one user wrote. Others, like Sara Rogers, 19, said they were instantly inspired to try this themselves.

Rogers, who lives near Nashville, told BuzzFeed News she saw Puckett's video and instantly thought about her mom, who died in a car accident last year. She had made previous videos about her mom and her grief, but she said this one was surprisingly hard to get through.


"I made another [TikTok] before I made this one that I ended up posting and I immediately bawled my eyes out as you can probably tell by my red face," Rogers said. "It looked way too realistic and was very sentimental to me."

Adrianne Taylor, 21, said she was also moved to tears the moment she began posing "with" her father in the photo. Her dad died from brain cancer in 2012 when she was only a preteen.

"When making the TikTok I became overwhelmed with emotions," Taylor, who lives in San Jose, told BuzzFeed News. "I've watched the video myself at least 200 times."

She said what she felt was "raw sadness" because her dad could not see her grow up. But then seeing the result of the photo was also strangely comforting.

"It was nice to see a photo of us with me grown up rather than being a little girl," Taylor said. "When losing a loved one there's no time limit on your grief. You just learn to live with it."

Sean Kim, the head of product for TikTok in the US, told BuzzFeed News said this creative and powerful use of their design was "inspiring."

"This use of Green Screen Scan is another inspiring example of our community’s creativity and heart, and we’re proud to see them continue to use TikTok to tell their stories and share meaningful moments with the world," said Kim.

Taylor, and others, said it's not just the TikTok filter that's had a profound effect on them. Sharing their complicated grief has also led strangers to message them, offering their condolences and also relating to their joy and sorrow.

"The kind feedback from people and the genuine understanding of my pain was so soothing and unlike anything I've experienced before," she added.

Rogers experienced the same. "I've had a ton of people reach out to me about their parents passing and it was extremely comforting knowing other people have gone through the same trauma and have gotten through it," she said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
×