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October 25, 2017

New Privacy Tech-Know blog: Seeing a Different World: The Possibilities Associated with Augmented and Virtual Reality

Phones, glasses, and headsets can now all either overlay information on the world we’re looking at or immerse us entirely in imaginary ones. The processes of overlaying information, termed ‘augmented reality’, can be seen when Pokémon appear on our mobile phones, directions appear for nearby restaurants, or our food’s nutritional information is displayed when we point our camera at our plate.

The full immersion into alternate worlds, termed ‘virtual reality’, can let us look around a space, play games with others in simulated cockpits, or climb mountain ranges. Both technologies present novel opportunities to experience the world while simultaneously raising questions about how our data is collected or used. Whereas Augmented Reality (AR) routinely presents information on top of our real-world environment, virtual reality (VR) replaces that environment entirely. The technologies underlying AR and VR share some commonalities but the ways in which they collect and process data are different. Find out more by reading our latest Privacy Tech-Know blog: Seeing a Different World: The Possibilities Associated with Augmented and Virtual Reality.

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