If you haven’t already heard of ‘wearable‘ devices, no doubt you will do soon, because they could shortly become part of our lives, just like smartphones or tablets.
‘Wearables’ could be described simply as technology you can wear. Perhaps it’s difficult to think of any technology you could pull on, like a sweater or T-shirt, but what about glasses, watches or smart wristbands? These are wearable devices.
Wearables and privacy
Even though this technology is a fairly new concept, there are already glasses and sports wristbands on the market. So the question many are asking is whether this latest technology will have a permanent effect on our privacy.
These are products that have access to very personal information. In the case of sports wristbands, for example, they monitor your heart rate when you’re playing sport – but where is the data stored? And what if someone manages to access it? Could even your health be at risk?
Some weeks ago, Glenn Cohen, a professor at Harvard Law School, in a conference about privacy and technology, focused especially on wearables and asked “Will your clothing spy on you?.” He pointed out that Google Glass allows the user to carry a camera around at all times and film whatever they want, without any restrictions.
Even though we’re talking about wearables, which barely exist today, we still have to be ready and adequately informed about the data that we’ll be making available. As we always say, it’s a question of using your common sense and keeping these devices updated to avoid, as far as possible, security flaws that threaten your privacy.