It has been reported by multiple sources that Google has created a facial recognition mobile app that works this way: The user just takes a photo of the person he wants to know more about. He then, uses this photo to find the Google profile, contact information of the person present on web. Thus even if the user doesn’t know the name, address or anything about the said person, if he manages to take a snap of him/her, he can find all the information he needs via the photo.
As the still-unnamed app is capable of grabbing a Google Profile, user’s name, email address and phone number ( In addition, the technology used is also capable of accessing Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or other online photos and data) experts are already raising the privacy implications of the app.
Although Google is working on an opt-in model where the app will present the data of only those Google users who chose to participate; and explicitly give Google permission to link their profile data and picture; unless applied flawlessly the privacy implications of the said app are real, when one considers a simple situation where a guy at bar finds a woman attractive, and clicks her photo without her knowing.
A bit about the Technology used:
Googler Hartmut Neven, in charge of Google’s mage-recognition applications and founder of , Neven Vision, which Google acquired in 2006 is behind the said app. The app makes use of Neven’s facial recognition technology, which is already being used in Picasa, Google’s photo-sharing application. Similar Object-recognition technologies developed by Neven are being used in Google Goggles as well.
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