Retake, the AI face and selfie editor developed by Codeway, has passed 38 million users worldwide, according to company data. The company reports that the app has grown 48% over the past twelve months and now produces more than 2 million edited photos a month. Behind the numbers is a design decision that runs against the usual way image models are built: instead of one model for everyone, Retake trains one for each person.
A new user uploads 10 of their own photos, and the app builds a separate AI model from them. According to Codeway, training on a person’s own images is what allows the output to preserve their identity: the person in the result remains recognizably the person in the original. Once the model is ready, any new photo comes back as a set of finished alternatives refined from the original. Users can also adjust hair and expression, then pick the version they want to share.
Behind the personal AI model for every face
Mehmet Sat, Applied AI Engineering Lead at Codeway, describes the approach as a deliberate choice to go smaller. “General image models are built to know everything, and that is their weakness when it comes to faces,” he says. “Retake’s model does one thing: faces. Then it goes further and learns yours. A small model focused on one face will beat a huge model that knows a little about everyone.”
Retake runs on an image model that Codeway develops and trains in-house, built specifically to be personalized for each user. According to the company, owning the model end to end is what makes a personal model per user practical at 38 million users. Identity preservation can be set as a training priority, model updates ship on Codeway’s own timeline, and the cost of each generated image stays predictable as usage grows.
The app also has a feedback loop built into everyday use. Users can give any result a thumbs up or down, and styles that receive a thumbs down stop appearing.
The test is whether anyone notices
The clearest signal the company points to is how rarely users ask for a second attempt. According to Codeway’s data, 62% of users rate the first result the app gives them positively, without generating another. Retake holds an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 from more than 53,000 ratings on the US App Store.
What comes next
Codeway says a set of new tuning features is in development for Retake and will give users finer control over their results without changing how natural they look. As 2026 draws to a close, the team is building toward a 2027 in which Retake becomes an all-in-one photo app, where the same personal AI profile that fixes a photo can also refine it. The company has not shared feature details or release dates.
Retake is available on the App Store and Google Play in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. Those who want to take a closer look can download Retake here.
