Apple patents system to stop people from snooping on your iPhone by blurring the screen when it detects the gaze of unauthorized eyes
- Apple’s patent will stop strangers from viewing the content on your iPhone
- The system is designed with facial recognition and eye-gazing software
- It distinguishes between the device’s owner and an unwanted onlooker
- If an unknown face is spotted, the app blurs the screen in their view
- The initial user can still view the content without interruption
Apple may have a solution to strangers snooping on your iPhone .
The tech giant filed a new patent for technology that is capable of distinguishing between the device’s owner and an unwanted onlooker, and blurs the screen the latter is determined.
Called ‘Gaze-dependent display encryption,’ the app uses facial recognition to determine the owner and eye-tracking technology to pinpoint where they are looking at the moment.
When an unknown face comes into view, either in front or in the background, gaze encryption is activated and blurs the screen for the unauthorized eyes – but the initial user can still view the content without any interruption.
When an unknown face comes into view, either in front or in the background, gaze encryption is activated and blurs the screen for the unauthorized eyes – but the initial user can still view the content without any interruption
For those living in urban areas where public transportation is a way of life, you can always spot an individual taking a peek at someone else’s screen.
Whether it is a form of snooping or just boredom, the unwanted onlooker is invading that person’s privacy – but Apple has designed a way that keeps these nosy people at bay.
The patent, filed on September 9, 2019, states: ‘Portable devices are often used to view content that is private, confidential, or even classified, TechXplore first reported.
‘However, when these devices are used in public spaces such as cafes, trains, buses, airplanes, airports, or the like, there is a risk that the private, confidential or classified information could be viewed by an unwanted observer looking at the user’s display.’
Apple filed a new patent for technology that is capable of distinguishing between the device’s owner and an unwanted onlooker, and blurs the screen the latter is determined. The app uses facial recognition to determine the owner and eye-tracking technology to pinpoint where they are looking at the moment
The technology, which is described as an app, would determine the user’s gaze via one or more cameras, other sensors and would process images capture with facial recognition to decide if the person viewing is the owner of the device.
When an unknown pair of eyes are detected, the app would obscure the screen just to them, allowing the primary user to carry on viewing their content without interruption.
‘The obscured content may be generated in a way that does not cause the user to notice the obscuration and that prevents the obscuration itself from visually indicating the location of the clear-viewing region to other observers or onlookers, the patent reads.
‘In accordance with some aspects, the gaze-dependent visual encryption may be further based on the presence and/or gaze location of one or more onlookers.
Onlookers will be able to determine that what they are seeing is text or an image, but the content will be scrambled.
Such manipulations will include text scrambling, color altering and image warping.
TechXplore suggests the app could first be released to iPads, iPhones and desktop units, but could eventually make its way to the Apple Watch.