21st Century Learning and Teaching

Critics of Google Glass usually remark on how the device allows its owner to take photos and videos of other people without their knowledge or consent, which has contributed to some backlash, including bans on Glass in some establishments and an alleged assault on a Glass user.

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But a spyware app developed by two researchers has shown that Google Glass can be used to secretly take photos of whatever a Glass wearer is looking at without their knowledge - making the Glass user the one whose privacy and security is potentially compromised.

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The lens display usually lights up whenever Glass is in use, which is the only way to tell when Glass is on - other than witnessing voice and gesture commands used by the wearer such as "Okay Glass, take a photo."

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However, according to media reports, the app takes a photo every 10 seconds when the display is off, meaning the wearer (or anyone in view of the camera) is unaware that it's recording.

Jay Freeman, der Entwickler des alternativen iOS-Appstores Cydia, hat die Datenbrille Google Glass noch vor der offiziellen Verfügbarkeit geknackt.

Wie Freeman dem Wirtschaftsmagazin Forbes erklärte, konnte er dasBetriebssystem der Google-Brille, Android 4.0.4, mit einem bekannten Hack aus dem Jahr 2012 rooten und so die komplette Kontrolle über die Google Glass gewinnen.

Google Glass spyware can use users as surveillance drones

Security researchers have created prototype Google Glass spyware that is capable of snooping on everything the user is looking at without tipping off victims that anything is amiss.

Mike Lady and Kim Paterson – graduate researchers at California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo – created an app that takes a picture every 10 seconds a Glass display is active – before uploading the information to a remote server.

This all happens in the background without giving the wearer any indication that images from the hi-tech specs are being "live-streamed".

The scary thing for us is that while it’s a policy that you can’t turn off the display when you use the camera, there’s nothing that actually prevents you from doing it,” Paterson told Forbes.