One of the biggest viral tech stories this week was an announcement from a company called Deveillance that announced a product called Spectre 1: the first smart device that stops unwanted audio recordings from happening around you. This is an emerging category around anti-surveillance that is likely to continue to rise as people get frustrated by tech that seems to be always watching and reporting on their movements. Others have called it “tech cloaking” (a lovely Star Trek reference), but the idea is that products and services that enable this will be more popular with future consumers.
As Deveillance founder Aida Baradari explains:
“People should have a choice over what they want to share, especially in conversations. If we can’t converse anymore without feeling scared of saying something that’s potentially taken out of context or wrong, then how are we going to build human connection in this new age?”
The Spectre 1 won’t be out until later this year and is likely to carry a hefty price tag of about $1,199 but the category envisioning is one that will continue to grow in appeal and almost certainly these prices will come down as more people finally choose to take privacy into our own hands and protect themselves from being surveilled.