Seems like people could abuse this and it has the potential for lawsuits. Most common instance would be leaving it in a dressing room or something and it being used to invade peoples privacy. I am sure people will get much more creative than that. Maybe using it at a card game to see other peoples cards.
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privacy issues with seeing your camera on your watch
- Thread starter phirstube
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And anyway, you have to be within bluetooth range (I don't think this works over Wi-fi) and its really no different from leaving a phone recording somewhere. It actually turns the screen on and everything, so it really isn't so inconspicuous, even facing away the screen would cast that soft glow we all know and love.
It won't see the same flak that the Samsung Gear watches received for actually having a camera built into the device. Then again, if I saw someone walking towards me with their watch pitched out like that I'd be concerned.
You don't need an Apple Watch to leave an iPhone in a locker room, either already recording or set to take pictures periodically using some camera app, so it's not like the Apple Watch somehow enables privacy violations which weren't easy enough already using existing cameras.
Don't think those really worked very well from the reviews I read.
Also my Sony camera has a app to use the camera remotely that created its own wifi network. It even allows you to zoom. With 40x zoom I could set it across the room so you would never see it.
I had no idea you could view a live stream of the viewfinder on a Pebble. It's kinda impressive, but that's a crude "drawing" of what's in the camera, more like looking at photos on an original gameboy, and not even close to realtime refresh. The watch is a live feed in full color, which increases the creep factor in this hypothetical situation one hundred fold in my opinion.
I was thinking about this issue as well- it seems to me that everyone could be made happy if Apple included a camera with a fixed-focus of about 12 inches. That way, you could hold up your watch for FaceTime, but it would be worthless as a spycam, as anything further away would be too blurry to discern.
EDIT: Sorry- I misread your post. You are talking about using the watch as a viewfinder, not about including a camera on the watch. My mistake...
EDIT: Sorry- I misread your post. You are talking about using the watch as a viewfinder, not about including a camera on the watch. My mistake...
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If the Apple Watch had a camera, which was crippled as you describe, should Apple cripple the iPhone camera too, to make spying more difficult? Otherwise, what's to prevent anybody from holding their iPhone to their ear as if on a call, but actually recording everything to their side?
You are correct. If a person intends to be a creep, they can certainly find a way. I was thinking about the negative public perception of cameras on wearables. The Samsung watch and Google Glass both caused an outcry of privacy concerns from the general public. I was suggesting that including a single-purpose camera for FaceTime could prevent such an occurrence.
Plus, the iSight camera on the iPhone has always been one of Apple's most touted upgrades with each new generation. I should think that Apple would want people to use it, instead of what would likely be a much less capable watch-mounted camera. Making the watch camera FaceTime-only could give us the selfie and FaceTime features we would want on the watch, but also reduce the chances of a media-fueld pervert scare. (voyeur-gate?)
Then again, I am just spitballing here. I'm no expert in any of these issues.
Still doesn't change that fact that remote camera view finders existed before the apple watch.
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I'm sure it was nowhere near as polished but the app did exist.
But when you read the reviews they didn't work not even unpolished. Anyone could make an app didn't matter if it worked or not pebble didn't check them out to make sure if they did what they said. That's was one the bad things about pebble they had a lot of bogus apps and apps that border on illegal. They did no verification. Don't get me wrong they did have some very good apps but many unscrupulous ones.
privacy issues with seeing your camera on your watch
The pebble ones are not made by Sony they are made by third party developer out for a quick buck. I know the app by Sony had iOS and android versions don't know anything about a wearable version. But my point is pebble didn't really have anything like that. Lots of claims but no results. Maybe better on the newer versions of pebbles will be better I don't know but pebble still needs to fix their App Store and get a real screening process.
The pebble ones are not made by Sony they are made by third party developer out for a quick buck. I know the app by Sony had iOS and android versions don't know anything about a wearable version. But my point is pebble didn't really have anything like that. Lots of claims but no results. Maybe better on the newer versions of pebbles will be better I don't know but pebble still needs to fix their App Store and get a real screening process.