There’s been a lot of buzz on websites like UnlockUnit.com because of a new Google copyright that would serve advertisements based on your environmental conditions. Many people are calling these creepy or an invasion of privacy, but is it really? Google, Facebook, and any other large company that sells advertisements decides which ads to display based on your searches, interests, age, and a variety of other factors. So why not take it a step further with mobile devices and use environmental conditions? I don’t really see the problem.
Many people feel that this patent crosses the line, but I don’t see why. A sensor in your smart phone would be read and analyzed by a computer program to display relevant advertisements. It’s not like someone is analyzing your data by hand or the data is being broadcasted to the world. It’s simply just a little bit of code built into your Android phone to display more relevant ads, nothing more. How does this differ from Facebook displaying ads based on your relationship status or interests?
This technology could be applied to a variety of things including smart phones, billboards, and kiosks. The device could contain a sensor to check the heat, humidity, and if it’s day or night. This data could then be used to display an ad for cold beer on a hot day or a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop if it’s a cold morning. I think technology like this is inevitable and is definitely not a privacy invasion because the data isn’t analyzed by humans.
With smart phones getting smarter each day and technology like Google’s glasses, this technology might very well be a part of our future. However, there’s simply no need to panic. Many companies file patents every day for things they have no immediate plans to use – this is nothing new. Whether this gets built into the latest Android smart phones or is never given another consideration is just speculation at this point. One thing is clear, the overwhelming majority of people are against this decision, which would lead to a rise of jailbreaking phones, go to unlockunit.com for more information.