How Will Life-Logging Cameras Risk Your Privacy?
After the deaths of both his parents when he was a young adult, Martin Kaellstroem came to the realization that people needed to document their lives as they were living so that they, and others, would be able to remember not only the important events, but also the lesser ones. After all, who knows when something will have a large significance in their lives? Sure, the big things, like a wedding or the birth of a child will be remembered, but what about the “little” things like when you first met your future wife/husband? How about your first date? Your first kiss? These things may not be forgotten, but details may be lost in time. Most people only have a camera with them for special occasions and events when everyone is happy, perfectly dressed and on their best behavior. But, what about the other moments of life? It’s these other moments that gave Mr. Kaellstroem, co-founder of the company Memoto, the idea of creating a life-logging camera. He has said, “When you lose your parents, you realize that you don’t live forever. It definitely affected me in my entrepreneurship. I can’t wait until later to fulfill my dreams; I have to live my dream now.”
The life-logging camera is a device about the size of an iPod Mini, that is worn either clipped to a shirt or jacket, or worn on a cord around ones neck. Once activated, it cannot be turned off and will take pictures of whatever is in front of you at 30 second intervals. Mr. Kaellstroem has stated, “You don’t know in advance which moments will be important in the future. Perhaps you meet your future wife or witness an accident or a crime. These are pictures you might want to return to”. He also feels that using this life-logging camera cannot be seen as an invasion of privacy. I don’t understand how he can think this. I am one of those people who shy away from a camera. I feel uncomfortable when someone is clicking away, especially today, in the age of social media. There are very few pictures of me anywhere on-line, and that’s the way I like it. If I knew someone who was using a life-logging camera, I would not have any face-to-face time with that person. I have nothing to hide; I just don’t like my photo being posted on someone else’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
When you think of life-logging cameras, do you think of Big Brother? How about The Truman Show? Mr. Kaellstroem only thinks of these cameras as a way to gather and store memories so they can be looked at by friends, relatives, or the life-logger himself. Others, like me, may feel that their privacy is being violated by a life-logger. The pictures stored in the cameras are automatically sorted by date, time of day, lighting and GPS location. They are to be used as the life-logger sees fit, which means that he or she can keep them private, show them to close friends and family, or, they can be shared to social media.
Mr. Kaellstroem’s co-founder has called the life-logging cameras a “diary for the techie crowd” because they can record moments in life without the user giving much thought to it. This is great for those who have tried to keep a journal or even a travelogue, but who don’t have the patience to write everything down, especially while on their adventures. But, what about others who are on these adventures? What if they don’t want THEIR lives being documented like this?
Since the life-logging camera is very small, it may be mistaken for an iPod Mini, so, unless the wearer is upfront about its use, a person he is meeting with may not know that they are being documented. There are people who will compare these cameras to Google Glass, but, as I see it, there are two major differences: 1) Google Glass is obvious when worn (Google Glass: Small Device Big Privacy Concern), and 2) Google Glass does not take pictures or videos automatically and can be turned off at any time. Life-logging cameras will constantly record, so another person won’t really have an option, other than leaving the room, on whether or not to be recorded. Even if someone chooses to leave the room, there could already be many pictures taken before learning that the device is a camera and what it is being used for.
Anyone using a life-logging camera has full control over what is done with the photos. They could be kept private, shared with only those close to the life-logger, or they could be posted to social media. How can this NOT be considered an invasion of privacy? Keep in mind that you don’t have to be meeting one on one with the life-logger; you could just be walking in the park and passing by a life-logger. Any pictures taken as you walk by can be posted to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I don’t know about you, but I would consider it an invasion of my privacy if this were to happen to me.
Every individual needs to make up their own minds as to whether or not they want to record their lives by wearing a life-logging camera. I just hope that those who do decide to purchase one are upfront about its use whenever they come in contact with others. In fact, if it was a friend of mine who decided to use the life-logging camera, I would hope that I would be told about it before I agreed to meet for dinner. I would then choose to stay home and keep all contact with that friend on a phone call/text/email basis only. I’m a private person and I want to keep my privacy safe.