GOOGLE TO RELEASE INTERNET-WIDE PERSONAL PHOTO FINDER
April 1st 2009
There can be nothing more embarrassing than showing up for a job interview only to learn that your potential employer has found inappropriate photos of you on the internet.
Thanks to Mountain View based Google’s (GOOG) latest venture, however, that fear is slowly being eliminated through the advancement of technology.
In a release party attended by such celebrities as Jennifer Lopez, Sir Mix a Lot, and Paris Hilton, Google announced Google iPrivacy, a product designed to allow users to track down photos of themselves they don’t want to be seen by others.
The way the feature works is as follows: First, users upload photos of their own buttocks. Google then employs an adopted version of its face-recognition feature used in its photo-sharing software Picasa, in order to determine elements that are unique to the user. Google then scans the internet to alert the user of sites that may contain pictures they don’t want to be found.
According to Google Spokesman Juan Nalgas, “the human backside has a number of unique characteristics unlike any other part of the body which allow us to uniquely identify it. In essence, each rear is like a fingerprint or a snowflake.”
When asked how Google is able to determine one backside from another, Nalgas noted that “we look at shape, contour, curves, skin tone, and most importantly birth marks, scars, moles, etc., anything that can help us distinguish one behind from another.”
If a user is able to successfully demonstrate with the derriere-recognition software, known internally as Google Ass-Finder, that someone is hosting photos against his/her will, Google will remove the offending page from its index.
While the announcement has been met favorably by some, others argue that Google is simply highlighting a problem without offering any solution. Google privacy critic Mike Foucault feels that “Google is just trying to cover its ass from real privacy concerns with a feature that doesn’t really address the larger issues surrounding Google and privacy.” Foucault added, “Once Google has indexed all of behinds, what’s next?”
Google is currently considering two options for moving forward with Google iPrivacy, including the possibility of using its current Page Rank system to determine which are the most popular rear-ends on the net, and creating a gadget to work alongside its open-social platform so that users can scan social networks like MySpace and LinkedIn for indiscreet photos.