Our future technology has a lot of amazing possibilities, and few have more promise than augmented and mixed reality headsets. But these advancements come with several concerns over privacy, and if we don't understand them, we may lose control of our own data without even knowing.
The Problem with Passive Data Collection
The danger of data privacy issues exists right now. We give our smartphones a large amount of information about us willfully, and they passively collect even more. We often don't realize this is happening and have to decide whether we trust corporations, large and small, with potentially sensitive and personal data.
This problem becomes even more significant with augmented and mixed reality headsets. They not only passively capture information about the places we live, but have a greater understanding of our environments, and even our own bodies, more than anything else we've seen thus far.
Wired's Kevin Kelly explains the various problems we may encounter in the future in his cover story on the Magic Leap:
"This comprehensive tracking of your behavior inside these worlds could be used to sell you things, to redirect your attention, to compile a history of your interests, to persuade you subliminally, to quantify your actions for self-improvement, to personalize the next scene, and so on. If a smartphone is a surveillance device we voluntarily carry in our pocket, then VR will be a total surveillance state we voluntarily enter." (Emphasis mine.)
The Microsoft HoloLens maps the intersection of walls and ceiling to create a mixed reality gaming environment.
Image by Adam Dachis/WonderHowTo
Headsets collect room data for practical purposes, of course. They need to know where objects are in the room, or to track the movements of your appendages, in order for certain apps and games to operate. This will happen with your future smartphones as well, thanks to efforts like Google's Project Tango that seek to add more sensors to help devices understand their environments without any interaction on your part.
It could be safe to assume most software we use and give data to today has no malicious intent. For example, Google uses data from your Gmail to make your calendar experience better. But even simple data sharing can lead to leaks and problems in the future. Just because such manipulative use isn't widespread today doesn't mean it won't be tomorrow when the stakes are higher.
This is also not a problem that builds over time. It only takes one data breach to cause serious issues for any given person. Once your data is out there, your privacy and identity are at risk. Multiple data breaches could make problems worse, but it only takes one instance to cause significant damage. If you don't protect yourself, you won't necessarily get a second chance.
Currently, technology that understands its location while actively watching and listening during use only exists in the development stage. As a result, safeguards to help ensure this kind of data remains in our control have yet to be developed.
Without scrutinizing your network data and examining app code, you can't really know where your data is going if the app or operating system doesn't outright inform you. Both of these options have their limitations, too, and are tedious, cumbersome, and highly technical processes. You probably won't want to bother with these methods even if you know exactly what to do.
This is the problem with passive data collection. In many cases it won't matter, but if one app or company goes rogue, you can quickly lose a lot of sensitive information and never know until the problems begin to occur. On the lighter side, very specific information about you could be sold without your permission and used to spam you with ads, telesales, and other junk you don't want.
More problematic, however, is if that data ends up in the hands of any sort of criminal. Robbers could gain a full map of your house and figure out when you're away from home. Plenty of the data is also ripe for identity theft, and hackers who take control of headsets could potentially see through your eyes. These are just a few possibilities we can imagine now. As technology grows to understand you and its surroundings better, so will new and clever ways to exploit it.
Furthermore, despite the best attempts of companies like Microsoft to eliminate viruses as an issue in their operating system, success is far from guaranteed. The threat of data theft has always existed, and the more useful data a thief can steal from a device the more attractive that prospect becomes.
What Can We Do About It?
Given the benefits of these augmented and mixed reality devices, and the promise of what's to come, many people will want to use them on a daily basis. While you can't (or, at least, may not have the necessary time) to do much to prevent data leaks, your first step toward preventing the problem is awareness.
When you know your data could be compromised, you can choose what you allow your device to collect and retain. This effort can be as simple as limiting its use to certain rooms that don't contain any sensitive, personal information when running apps that collect visual data. This may seem a bit paranoid, but it doesn't require you to do much of anything if you've got a relatively open room without anything too private clearly in view. When using a mixed or augmented reality headset, you'll want space to move around anyhow.
Just like you should when your smartphones ask permission to access hardware or data, you want to make sure you find out why your holographic headset needs those permissions as well. A voice memos app just needs your microphone to record a note and may not even connect to the internet at all. In that case, you probably won't risk much by allowing microphone access.
But some apps, like Facebook Messenger, sometimes utilize your microphone in ways you might not expect. Perhaps they're not malicious in their intent, but I think most of us would like to know explicitly when we're being recorded for any reason.
Beyond a reasonable amount of vigilance, you can contact companies developing these technologies (e.g. Microsoft, Meta, and Magic Leap) and ask them what they're doing to protect your privacy. They may not have a definitive answer yet, but simply letting them know you want your data protected underscores the importance of privacy in a rapidly changing world.
Some risks are worth the rewards, and I believe mixed reality is one of them. It's an incredible technology even in its infancy, and the benefits outweigh the risks. But that's not an excuse to ignore the dangers new technologies may bring. As you should with anything new, make sure you learn how it works and understand the potential risks. Knowledge and awareness can go a long way.
These days, there's almost an expectation that you have to deal with messages as soon as you get them. But that's not always the best way to handle things—sometimes, you're preoccupied with something, and it would be better if you could deal with a new message when you have a chance to give it your full attention.
Unfortunately, Android takes an all-or-nothing approach with notifications, so you either have to deal with them right away, or run the risk of forgetting about it. This is why developer MobiSoc (from Cardiff University) created a new app that will give you a second chance to deal with notifications, or simply snooze them to be viewed later. It's a groundbreaking app, and it's easy to set up, so I'll show you how it works below.
Step 1: Install Boomerang Notifications
The app that allows you to save or snooze notifications is called Boomerang Notifications, so go ahead and get it installed to begin.
Step 2: Grant Notification Access
When you first launch Boomerang Notifications, you'll be greeted by a set-up guide. Go ahead and flip through this, but make sure to press the "Enable" button at the bottom of the screen when you arrive at the "Activate Boomerang" screen. From here, toggle the switch next to the Boomerang entry, then press "Allow" on the popup. When you're done with that, press your device's back button to head back to the app.
Step 3: Choose Apps That Will Have the Ability to Save Notifications
At this point, Boomerang will ask if you'd like to use its notification-saving feature on a per-app basis, or simply with all of your apps. The developer recommends that you use the per-app method, so leave the first option selected on this screen, then press "Next."
From here, you'll see a list of all your installed apps. Simply scroll through this list, then tick the boxes next to any app whose notifications you would like to be able to save. When you're done here, tap the back button to finalize your work.
Step 4: Save Notifications for Later
At this point, you're all set and ready to go. The next time you receive a notification, you can either tap it to view the message, or swipe it left or right to dismiss it. When you perform either of these actions, you'll immediately see a second notification from Boomerang.
You can press "Save" on this second notification to save a copy of the message you just dismissed, and it will be viewable at any time from Boomerang's main menu. Otherwise, you can press the "Save + Reminder" button, and you'll be prompted to select a time frame when the notification you just dismissed will pop back up a second time—just make sure to tap the "Save Reminder" button when you're done here.
If you opted to set a reminder for your saved notification, it will show back up when the time comes. Technically, the second notification is posted by Boomerang, rather than the original app, but it contains the full message text of the original, so you can deal with it when the time comes.
Mobile data is expensive. The internet connection that comes with your cell phone plan is generally limited to a certain amount of gigabytes that can be downloaded before your monthly cap kicks in, at which point you run the risk of incurring costly overage fees.
Luckily, though, your smartphone can help with this problem. The Android operating system has a built-in mobile data monitor that can be set to warn you when you're getting close to your monthly cap, or even prevent your device from using any more data. So if you've been struggling with your cellular data limit, I'll show you how to set it up below.
Step 1: Set a Data Usage Warning Level
If you'd like your phone to warn you with a notification when you're getting close to your monthly data cap, head to the main Settings menu and select the "Data usage" option. You'll see a graph with a line above it on the following screen; Drag this line up or down to change the warning threshold. I'd suggest setting it to 75% of your monthly data limit. If you're not aware of your monthly data limit, visit your carrier's website.
Note: If you don't see a line in the graph, make sure "Cellular data" (or "Mobile data" on older Android versions) is toggled on.
Next, you should adjust the billing cycle so that your phone's data usage meter resets on the same day that your bill is due. So tap the date field on this menu, select "Change cycle," and select the day of the month that your bill is normally due. From now on, your phone will be able to warn you more accurately when you're about to hit your data limit.
It should be noted, though, that the data usage numbers depicted in this menu may differ from your carrier's official numbers. In general, it's safe to use this as a rough estimate, but when you start to get really close to your monthly data limit, you should double check with your carrier's website to be extra cautious.
Step 2: Set a Data Usage Limit (Optional)
Even if you're not actively using your phone to browse the internet or stream media, your apps can sync in the background, which uses data. This means that when you're really close to your monthly data cap, your apps can automatically and silently put you into overage fee territory.
If you'd like to avoid this, consider setting a hard cap on your data. To try it out, enable the "Set cellular data limit" option (called "Set mobile data limit" on old Android systems) in the same settings menu, then adjust the orange slider that appears to a point just below your monthly data limit.
With this setting enabled, your phone will automatically block all data traffic when you hit this threshold, which means that apps won't be able to sync data in the background until your next billing cycle.
How to Disable Data Usage Warnings & Limits
But let's say you're not worried about overage fees—perhaps you have an unlimited data plan, for example. In this case, the data usage warning and limit would only serve as an annoyance, right?
To disable either of these features, go back to the "Data usage" settings. From here, turn the "Set cellular data limit" switch off to prevent your phone from blocking data traffic. As far as the data warning function goes, there's no way to truly disable it, so your best option would be to simply raise the slider up to a very large number that you'll be unlikely to hit.
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratoryhave created Wi-Fi technology that identifies where you are, which may eliminate the need for passwords.
The system, called Chronos, can determine where a user is with an accuracy of "tens of centimeters," according to the research paper. This has various uses, such as telling Chronos not to allow people beyond the walls of your home or small business access to your network, called geo-fencing. You could build virtual walls that mimic your real ones.
Inside your house? No problem. Take one step outside your front door? No access.
By telling Chronos to block Wi-Fi access to users outside of a certain area, you can keep out hackers or people trying to piggyback on your network without the need for passwords. The researchers tested this in the epitome of a small business that relies on Wi-Fi, the coffee cafe, and found it to work with 97-percent accuracy. They tested home use also, finding that Chronos could identify four users and what rooms they were in with 94-percent accuracy.
How It Works
The exact method Chronos uses to accomplish this feat is interesting and a little involved. Roughly speaking, the system can judge how long it takes for a Wi-Fi signal to get to a device using it (called time of flight) with an error rate of 0.47 seconds. By calculating that and multiplying it by the speed of light, Chronos can determine both the angle (i.e., the cardinal direction) and the distance of the device relative to the router, giving it more or less exact coordinates. According to the researchers, this is 20 times more accurate than existing systems.
Researchers suggested other uses as well, such as coupling with smart home technology to automatically warm and cool, or turn on and off lights when you move into another room. They also demonstrated how Chronos can keep a drone within a certain distance of someone, so it could either follow you around or prevent itself from bumping into you.
Will hackers figure out a different way to get into your network? The paper is mum on the subject. Forging your time of flight seems more than difficult, but hacking networks may easily move into territory beyond breaking passwords.
Augmented reality began on smartphones but technical limitations have prevented further development. Google's Tango (formerly Project Tango) aimed to change all that, and with Lenovo's help, they now have their first device.
Check out the features in this video from Lenovo:
Lenovo's $499 Phab2 Pro is a 6.4 inch, 1,440p smartphone that, as the name clearly indicates, has no shame about being called a phablet. It speeds along with an eight-core Snapdragon 652 processor, 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of flash storage (with microSD expansion options), and a large 4,050 mAh battery that Lenovo claims can last up to 15 hours.
What sets the Phab2 apart from other giant smartphones is its depth sensor and wide angle camera that assist Google's Tango technology. Thanks to these hardware additions and Android's new abilities to use them, the Phab2 can map the environment around you, track objects, and easily insert 3D renderings into the space it sees. It creates a real-time, untetheredaugmented/mixed reality experience much like Microsoft's HoloLens, but in 2D and on your smartphone's screen.
The Phab2 won't be available until this September, but its announcement reveals a lot about what we can expect from our devices in the future. These new sensors and mapping technologies passively collect a lot of data about our environments and that raises a number of privacy concerns.
If all that data stays locked away in our phones, we don't have a problem, but companies can target ads more aggressively with data they discover, and hackers could obtain 3D maps of our homes if they gain access. As cool as Tango-enabled devices might be, we can't ignore the risks the technology poses.
Image via Lenovo
Risks aside, Tango (and the Phab2 Pro) mark a major advancement in what phones can do to alter reality.
Augmented reality has long-defined the experiences we currently know on our phones, as they add a layer of data on top of what we see. This technology is really useful for say, Google's translation app or Yelp's Monocle.
Tango takes this a step further than we've ever seen before, creating a mixed reality, which merges the digital into our physical environments.
Image via Lenovo
While a small screen won't feel as immersive as a 3D holographic headset like the HoloLens, adding this technology to smartphones has the potential to bring mixed reality experiences to far more people at a more reasonable cost. Furthermore, while Microsoft's HoloLens is completely untethered and can function as a standalone device, it still has a long way to grow in its overall resolution, viewing area, and processing power—not to mention its battery life is only about 20% of the Phab2 Pro's.
The HoloLens feels a lot more like the future nevertheless, but while we wait for mixed reality headsets to evolve over the next decade, we at least have Tango expanding our reality-experience options. Furthermore, additional platforms will allow developers to create more apps, games, and experiences that will likely find homes on platforms other than just Tango-enabled devices.
Image via Lenovo
In some cases, smartphone-based mixed reality makes more sense than donning a headset. When you're just trying to see how a new piece of furniture might look, you want to change the color of your walls, or evenalter your appearance, it just makes more sense for applications to be handheld.
Regardless of the hardware, the more our everyday gear embraces mixed reality the more prepared we'll be for the future devices when they finally come of age. Mixed reality holds a lot of potential for the future, and greater device compatibility can only expand the possibilities of what we can do.
There are few things more annoying in life than getting interrupted—especially when you're in a groove, jamming out to your favorite song. If we can all agree on that sentiment, then why is it that our phones mute the music we're listening to for a few seconds whenever a notification comes in?
Luckily, you have an Android device. This means that minor quibbles like this one can easily be remedied in most cases—especially when you involve the powerful automation app Tasker. Below, I'll go over a simple Tasker profile that will automate the process of disabling notifications while you're listening to music or streaming video.
Step 1: Install Tasker
If you don't have Tasker already installed on your device, you can use the links below to get that taken care of. It's available for $2.99 on the Google Play Store, but if you'd rather give it a try before you buy, there's a free 7-day trial version that can be sideloaded.
Step 2: Enable Tasker's Accessibility Plugin
With Tasker installed, the first thing you'll need to do is enable its accessibility plugin. So from your phone or tablet's main Settings menu, head to the "Accessibility" entry, then select "Tasker" from the list. Finally, toggle the switch at the top of the screen to enable the service. If you already had Tasker installed, there's a good chance this was already done.
Step 3: Create a New Profile in Tasker
Just in case you need a refresher on how Tasker works, I'll cover the basics briefly. First, you set up a "Profile," which is a condition or set of conditions that, when met, will trigger a "Task." The task, on the other hand, is a set of actions that will be performed automatically when your profile's conditions are met.
So to get started, head to the Profiles tab in Tasker's main menu, then tap the+ button at the bottom of the screen, and select "Application." From here, select any apps that you use to listen to music or stream video, because the way this profile will work is by triggering a task that enables "Do Not Disturb" mode when these apps are open in the foreground.
Step 4: Associate a Task with This Profile
Once you're done selecting apps for your profile, tap your device's back button once. From here, Tasker will prompt you to associate a task with this profile, so choose "New Task," then name it something like "Do Not Disturb" or "DND."
From here, you'll be taken to the Task Edit menu. Tap the + button at the bottom of your screen to add a new action to this task, then on the following menu, select the "Audio" category.
Next, choose "Do Not Disturb" on the subsequent popup, then leave everything selected exactly as it is on the following screen. Note that "Do Not Disturb" might not be available on older Android versions, so if this is the case, you'll have to experiment with the "Notification Volume" action instead.
From here, tap your device's back button once, then Tasker will prompt you to enable its notification listener service. So press "OK" on this message, then enable the "Tasker" option on the following screen, and press your device's back button one more time to head out to Tasker's main menu again.
Step 5: Add an Exit Task to Your Profile
At this point, the basics of your automated Do Not Disturb mode profile are already taken care of. If you examine the profile from Tasker's main menu, you'll see that it becomes active when you're using the music or video apps you chose, at which point your task will kick in and cause Do Not Disturb mode to be enabled. But the only problem is that, as things stand, your device will stay in Do Not Disturb mode after you exit these apps.
So to make sure you still receive notifications when you're not listening to music or streaming video, you'll have to add an exit task to this profile. To do that, long-press the task portion of your profile and choose "Add Exit Task." From here, choose "New Task" again, then name it something like "Normal" or "DND Off."
Next, you'll be taken to the Task Edit menu again. From here, tap the + button at the bottom of your screen to add an action to this task, then select the "Audio" category on the popup.
From the next menu, choose "Do Not Disturb" again, but this time you'll have to make a minor change on the Action Edit screen. So tap the drop-down menu, then select "All," which will return your device to regular notification mode.
Next, tap your device's back button twice to head out to Tasker's main menu and make your profile become active. From here, if you take a closer look, you'll see how things will work going forward.
The profile you created will only become active when the music or video apps you selected are active in the foreground. When that happens (when you're listening to music or streaming video, basically), your task will kick in and cause your device to enter Do Not Disturb mode. When you leave one of these apps, however, your exit task will kick in and restore your ringer to its normal state.
Step 6: Enjoy Music & Videos Without Interruptions
So with everything set up, you'll be able to enjoy music or videos without interruptions from now on. When you open one of the apps you selected in Step 3, you'll see the Do Not Disturb icon in your status bar, which means notifications won't interrupt your jam session. When you leave the app, however, that Do Not Disturb icon will disappear automatically, and you'll continue to receive notifications like normal.
