Saturday, June 1, 2013

Google will reject Glass facial recognition apps amid growing privacy fears

Google will reject Glass facial recognition apps amid growing privacy fears

Glass specs could potentially ID folks, but won't be allowed to

Google has officially announced that it will not be accepting Glassware submissions that include facial recognition tech, at this time.

The confirmation comes amid the host of privacy concerns surrounding the Google Glass specs, with the possibility they could be used to recognise individuals at the forefront of most complaints.

Last month, US congress sent a letter to Google addressing the potential privacy concerns and now Google has now duly responded.

In a post on the Project Glass Google+ page, the company said that, while developers have expressed an interest in building facial recognition apps, they won't be allowed until security measures are in place.

Interest and concern

The post read: "When we started the Explorer Program nearly a year ago our goal was simple: we wanted to make people active participants in shaping the future of this technology ahead of a broader consumer launch.

"We've been listening closely to you, and many have expressed both interest and concern around the possibilities of facial recognition in Glass.

"As Google has said for several years, we won't add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place. With that in mind, we won't be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time."

All in all, it seems like a pretty smart call from Google. The growing panic over facial recognition and other privacy issues was starting to overshadow the general excitement about their revolutionary new eye-wear.


Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/google-will-reject-glass-facial-recognition-apps-amid-growing-privacy-fears-1155899

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