Google promises its new smart specs won't give creeps their ideal view
Google suggests its smart specs give users a chance to ask its Gemini chatbot questions about what they see, or have the AI speak turn-by-turn directions.
- Google promises privacy The Chocolate Factory, not exactly known for being reliable with its privacy claims, is insisting that this latest generation of smart glasses won’t produce another generation of “glassholes,” folk whose focus on wearable devices became synonymous with being creepy and rude to those around them.
- Now, as rivals like Meta enter the market with arguably more stylish kit, the Chocolate Factory has returned to the market and this time promises it won't invade your privacy.
- In Google’s case, it claims that light is tamper-resistant and designed to disable recording if something as small and simple as a bit of hair blocks a view of the light.
Lucky for those in range of a pair of Google glasses when wearers ask Gemini to interpret images captured by the device's camera, the tech specs redact the faces of strangers before they’re transmitted.
Google’s terms of use require users not to record others without permission, or in "sensitive places." If users ignore that requirement, the company reserves the right to brick their devices.
- Another restriction means Google won't allow apps that use the glasses for real-time streaming or facial recognition into its Play app store.
- It’s not clear how the tamper proofing works from Google’s statements, but a spokesperson told us a combination of hardware and software is used to detect attempts to disable or disrupt privacy features.
- It’s been nearly a decade since Google ditched its ill-fated "Glass" product, an early attempt at making smart glasses.
- Google told us it does save audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Gemini that users create while wearing the glasses but again insists that those aren’t used to train its AI models.
- The glasses don't save images or video captured by the camera into a user’s Gemini history, Google said, nor are visuals used to train the company’s AI models or target advertisements.
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