Google plans to introduce a mobile application that would allow users to snap pictures of people's faces in order to access their personal information, a director for the project said this week.
In order to be identified by the software, people would have to check a box agreeing to give Google permission to access their pictures and profile information, said Hartmut Neven, the Google engineering director for image-recognition development.
Profiles might include a name, phone number and e-mail address.
"We recognize that Google has to be extra careful when it comes to these (privacy) issues," Neven said. Before the app launches, Google plans to have acceptable privacy models in place, he said. While Google has begun to establish how the privacy features would work, Neven did not say when the company intends to release the product, and a Google spokesman said there is not a release timeline.
Google has had the technical capabilities to implement this type of search engine for years.