It is no secret the Google’s Glass is going to be one ‘slam dunk’ product when it is finally released to the general public – especially if they keep the price in the $300 – $500 range. But what we also know is that Glass is going to raise some real privacy concerns for a number of obvious reasons, however, the newest reason holds a very valid observation – wearers simply forget that they have them on. A new study from the University of B.C. (UBC) shows that users of wearable technology quickly forget that they are even wearing it, let alone recording anything – according to the study, this forgetfulness comes on at such a fast rate that 10 minutes is all it takes. Ever been asked by somebody if you have seen their glasses and the person is actually wearing them but did not realize it – this works on the same principal. UBC PhD student Eleni Nasiopoulos told our source, “We were really surprised to find it took less than 10 minutes. Obviously that has a lot of implications for privacy.”
Ever since Glass was launched, Google has been inundated with concerns over privacy. The wearable is not even available to the general population and it has already been banned in several places – restrooms, changing rooms, public showers, movies theaters, playhouses, some restaurants and bars, and the list goes on. What is so disturbing about this study is how fast the information can go from Glass to the social media sites and other internet areas. People also tend to be more guarded at what they look at or do if they know they are being recorded, but might allow themselves more ‘privileges’ if they know they are not being watched.
Nasiopoulos did a controlled study with people in a room where there was a sexy calendar hanging on the wall. The participants were told they were being recorded and as a distraction she gave them a five-minute task to focus on, but after ten-minutes they forgot they were being recorded and started to look and stare at the calendar. When reminded they were being recorded, they quickly diverted their eyes away from the calendar, as though the got ‘caught’ do something they were ashamed of.
This could prove that when people wearing Glass forget they are wearing them, they may be willing to ‘invade’ someone’s privacy, not realizing that they are recording something they should not. Pressure is being asserted on Google to include some sort of reminder that someone is wearing and recording with Glass…maybe Google Now could say a reminder, “recording in progress.” What do you think…please hit us up on our Google+ Page and let us know your concerns over Glass and your privacy…as always, we would love to hear from you.