Just because a company patents a piece of technology, that doesn’t mean it will necessarily use it in the wild. Still, it’s kind of freaking people out that Facebook patented technology that would watch you through your phone or computer’s front-facing camera, and see how you react to content. [More]
webcams
Facebook Patents Tech To Watch You Though Phone And Computer Cameras, Respond To Your Reactions
By 7.25.17
Online Gamers Watch Home Invasion Unfold Live At Fellow Player’s House Via Webcam
By 6.9.14
While your computer’s webcam can be a source of scariness if someone is watching who shouldn’t be, it could also be a valuable witness when things go awry. To wit: Police in Tempe, Ariz. have arrested one suspect and are looking for another, after online gamers from around the world watched a home invasion unfolding live via their fellow player’s webcam. [More]
UK Spy Agency Snooped On Yahoo Cam Chats, Including The Nude Ones
By 2.27.14
With help from their pals at the National Security Agency the British intelligence agents at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) spent two years swiping still frames from millions of Yahoo webcam chats between people who weren’t suspects in any crimes or terrorist activities, according to leaked government documents. [More]
FTC: Webcam Company’s Lax Security Led To Invasions Of Privacy
By 9.5.13 — Updated: 9.6.13
It’s all fun and Internet-connected games until someone gets spied on, says the Federal Trade Commission in a recent action it’s taking to protect consumers from seemingly innocent digital devices. The Internet of Things makes it so we can be online all the time, with our appliances, vehicles and many other objects we interact with on a daily basis. But the FTC is warning customers about webcams from TRENDnet that might not be so secure. [More]
Creepy Or Cool? Your Webcam Can Now Monitor Your Pulse
By 4.16.13
Webcams already have all sorts of practical purposes, from chatting with your friends, to business teleconferencing, to the growing number of people who make money baring their all on cam. But now, some clever folks have figured out a way to use your cam to monitor your heart rate, just by looking at your forehead. [More]
LG's Customer Service Reps Are Nice, But My Webcam Is Still Messed Up
By 12.24.10
Ted really likes his new LG netbook, except for one problem: the self-focusing webcam focuses itself in the wrong spot. The company’s customer service representatives were extremely friendly but ultimately useless. Now Ted has to continue…just a bit out of focus. [More]
Does Your Doctor's Office Combat Insurance Fraud With Webcams?
By 8.27.10
Melissa tells Consumerist that she had an irritating recent visit to her optometrist’s office. The experience led her to find a new provider (hooray, free market!) but she wonders whether the offending office’s tactics are becoming more common in other places. She wants to know: have any of your health care providers started photographing patients, claiming that the snapshots are to prevent insurance fraud? [More]
School Watched Student On Webcam On Suspicion Of Drug Dealing
By 2.28.10
Man, I can’t wait to see the “Law & Order” episode they’re going to make out of this. The family who filed a class action lawsuit against their son’s school district for allegedly spying on their son at home through the webcam of his school-issued Macbook has demanded to see the actual photos and other digital records pertaining to the case. The family claims that the school was watching the him on suspicion that he was using and selling drugs. They insist that the incriminating photos caught him … eating candy. [More]
Public School Issued Laptops To Students With Webcam Spy Software Included
By 2.18.10
If your child has a school-issued laptop, you may want to leave it closed whenever possible, or just cover up its built-in webcam. A family in Pennsylvania has accused their son’s school district of installing software on school-issued laptops that allows officials to spy on students at any time through the laptops’ webcams. [More]
Woman Accuses Dell Tech Support Of Launching Her Webcam Without Permission
By 1.25.10
I always keep a little sticker over the webcam lens on my netbook when I’m not using it, because I don’t trust that I know enough about computers to be 100% confident my webcam is off when I want it to be off. And if you think that’s being too paranoid, look at what happened to Dianne Annunziato earlier this month when she called a Dell support line for help with her laptop. [More]
Consumer Reports Tests "Racist" HP Webcam
By 12.22.09
Consumer Reports decided to test the now famous “racist” HP webcam for themselves, being product testers and all, to see if they could replicate the problem or even find a solution to it. The solution: the webcam needs foreground light to function, and the more pigment in your skin, the closer you seem to have to sit. [More]
HP Face Tracking Camera Doesn't Track Black Faces?
By 12.21.09
If you want to take advantage of this HP web cam’s face tracking feature and you’ve got dark skin, you’d better, I dunno, sprinkle glitter on your cheeks first or something. The software doesn’t seem to be able to recognize you otherwise. [More]
