Pretend you’re James Bond even though you’re just sitting in a coffee shop
Unlike most Android tablets, Chromebooks make for great productivity machines from the moment you open the box. That probably explains why they’ve been adopted by schools and office workers alike, offering a simple UI at a low cost of entry. If you’ve had your eyes on a Chromebook for work, you might want to hold off buying one, as future models could come with some improved security.
We’ve known that Chromebooks with a Human Presence Sensor, or “HPS,” have been in the works for a while now, with multiple entries listed in the Chromium Gerrit. In September, evidence that the HPS could work with face unlock to help strengthen your computer’s security began appearing, with other uses — including presence detection — also listed. A new report from 9to5Google is giving us a little more insight into another benefit of this sensor.
An upcoming flag for Chrome will let users enable “snooping detection,” activating the HPS to determine whether someone is looking at your screen over your shoulder. Google would use the webcam on a Chromebook to track the number of people in the frame and react accordingly, depending on your settings. Everything’s determined locally, so your surroundings — and your face — aren’t uploaded to the cloud.
Once a snooper (a Snoopy?) has been detected, there are a few actions Chrome OS can take. If you just want to know when someone’s behind you, a small eye icon can appear in the status area of the display, alerting you to your surroundings without having to watch your back constantly. It can also turn off notifications or automatically dim your screen to prevent it from being seen, saving all of your precious trade secrets and detonation codes from falling into the wrong hands.
Even if you aren’t a super spy or a high-up government official, being able to protect what’s on your screen from unwanted eyes would be a handy tool to have. As for when supported laptops might make it to store shelves, you might want to hold off buying a new Chromebook any time soon. Machines with this sort of tech aren’t expected to launch before sometime next year.
Read Next
About The Author
