Tech companies often scramble to one up each other in a wide variety of ways, and one of the many ways in which they attempt to do so is by trying to replicate products that their competitors have made. This really shows you how diverse each tech company has become, because companies that have traditionally been viewed to fulfill completely separate functions are now competing directly with one another.
A good example of this is Google’s Smart Glasses, which saw competition from Snap Inc, a social media company, and now Amazon, an e-commerce platform. These companies have been broadening their horizons for some time now, and Amazon’s Echo Frames as they are being called serve as yet another step in trying to maximize Amazon’s presence in the daily life of the consumer.
However, even though Amazon has eschewed a built in camera supposedly to improve user privacy while wearing the glasses, the Echo Frames will use Alexa, and a lot of people are concerned about the implications of having Alexa listening in constantly. While Alexa is already a part of our homes, that is quite different from having lots of people wearing these glasses outside since this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up being quite a big security hazard.
Even though Amazon is probably going to delete any unnecessary audio that is picked up, these glasses are going to give hackers and cyber criminals a prime target that they can focus on, one that they can use to pick up our every day conversation which is going to be a serious breach of privacy. There is also the fact that a corporation being able to listen in this manner is a pretty big privacy issue as well, so Amazon will have to deal with this before they end up bringing the spectacles to the market.
Photo: Karissabe / Twitter.
Read next: Amazon copied shoe design, and nobody seems to bat an eye on it
A good example of this is Google’s Smart Glasses, which saw competition from Snap Inc, a social media company, and now Amazon, an e-commerce platform. These companies have been broadening their horizons for some time now, and Amazon’s Echo Frames as they are being called serve as yet another step in trying to maximize Amazon’s presence in the daily life of the consumer.
However, even though Amazon has eschewed a built in camera supposedly to improve user privacy while wearing the glasses, the Echo Frames will use Alexa, and a lot of people are concerned about the implications of having Alexa listening in constantly. While Alexa is already a part of our homes, that is quite different from having lots of people wearing these glasses outside since this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up being quite a big security hazard.
Even though Amazon is probably going to delete any unnecessary audio that is picked up, these glasses are going to give hackers and cyber criminals a prime target that they can focus on, one that they can use to pick up our every day conversation which is going to be a serious breach of privacy. There is also the fact that a corporation being able to listen in this manner is a pretty big privacy issue as well, so Amazon will have to deal with this before they end up bringing the spectacles to the market.
Photo: Karissabe / Twitter.
Read next: Amazon copied shoe design, and nobody seems to bat an eye on it
