Google Glass hasn't been around long enough yet for us to form much of an opinion about it. The fact of the matter is that people are already saying that it's opening the doorway for all other kinds of wearable tech, even though it already has users being labeled as "Glassholes." Whether you've formed an opinion or not, you may find yourself needing to jump on the band wagon fast before you get left in the dust.
While Google Glass may not be on the commercial market just yet, that hasn't stopped people from developing apps for it. One of the most recent apps released for this innovative device is Watch Your Privacy. The problem is that we can't tell if this is meant to be used for good or evil.
Watch Your Privacy is a newly developed app that directly relates to security cameras. After the setup, the app is supposed to use open information regarding the location, and presumably specs, of security cameras to inform you of there location and what's within their line of sight.
With CCTV systems and security cameras being placed more and more in public and heavily populated locations, privacy has become a real concern for some people. Not everyone loves the idea of being on camera unknowingly and some people just don't like the idea of being on camera at all.
What little footage can be found of this app in action, it does not inspire much confidence about it's overall effectiveness, but it does seem to be opening some new doors. As this is the first of it's kind, we don't expect miracles from it, but it's impressive nonetheless.
When we speak to it's effectiveness, there's parts of their video that say it all for us:
At one point in this video, you'll come to this image:
If you've taken the time to visit their page, or watch the video, you'll know that red and yellow areas are suspected "danger zones" while anything green and beyond are "safe zones." We would draw your attention to the location and orientation of the camera in this image. The "danger zone" or red area here is very clearly not in a location the camera can possibly see.
This is just one example, and even though this example may display the ineffectiveness of the app, it also shows how incredible it is. While it may not have exactly given you the security cameras angle of view, it has done a pretty remarkable job of alerting you to it's presence. That in itself is enough reason for us to be on board.
Having just mentioned it's impressive ability to locate security cameras in public areas, this also raises a bit of an alarm for us. We'll call that alarm "criminal mischief." Assuming that everyone is not as good-natured as the next person, this is where we see this app being used for evil. We're sure the developers of Watch Your Privacy have the very best intentions, and they've truly put something great together here, but we do see a bit of backlash coming from this.
The bottom line is that Watch Your Privacy is certainly noteworthy, and as far as Google Glass is concerned, this is one of the more useful apps we've seen released for it. If personal privacy is of any importance to you, and you happen to be one of the lucky few to have your hands on this product, we'd definitely recommend it.
