In the near future, you might have more to worry about than someone looking over your shoulder — the smartphone beside you could be snooping on what you type. Scientists have programmed phones to spy by feeling. Incredible.
New Scientist reports that the method, although requiring a lot of tweaking before it’s a viable spy toy, can already detect typed words with 80 per cent accuracy. All by simply feeling the vibrations your keyboard makes — each click and clack corresponding to a letter, all processed into a word via accelerometer feedback. If you’re still paranoid, one researcher says there’s an easy fix (for now): “One of the simplest protections is to move your phone over 60cm from the keyboard.” Until then, it might be listening. But probably not. Just don’t let the CIA borrow your iPhone for the afternoon — as if it’s not snooping already. [New Scientist]