Google won’t allow facial recognition on Glass

Whether Google Glass ships out to regular users later this year or the next, one things is sure: it won’t make use of facial recognition software – for now.

The speculation on whether or not Google would (or should) be implementing such software has obviously pushed many privacy-concerned to raise their voices against the option, and Google has taken note.

“When we started the Explorer Program nearly a year ago our goal was simple: we wanted to make people active participants in shaping the future of this technology ahead of a broader consumer launch,” the company announced on its official Project Glass Google+ account.

“We’ve been listening closely to you, and many have expressed both interest and concern around the possibilities of facial recognition in Glass. As Google has said for several years, we won’t add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place. With that in mind, we won’t be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time.”

According to Liz GannesGlass Platform Developer Policies, which says that, for the time being, developers won’t be allowed to “use the camera or microphone to cross-reference and immediately present personal information identifying anyone other than the user, including use cases such as facial recognition and voice print.”

They are also prohibited from disabling or turn off the display when using Google Glass’ camera, so that users might not be able to take photos or capture video while pretending the device is shut down.

As content is concerned, “Glassware” (Glass software, i.e. apps) will not be allowed to contain sexually explicit material (including illegal material such as child pornography) and hate speech; to facilitate online gambling, violence and bullying, illegal activities; to contain or to consist entirely of malicious code, and much more.