Virtual Reality Privacy Concerns
If you had told someone even ten years ago that a criminal sitting on the other side of the world could steal their credit card information with a simple email, they might have written you off as a conspiracy theorist. Only a few decades ago, identity theft was not even recognized as a crime, let alone something that the police could actually investigate and prosecute. However, as new technology emerges that makes our lives more convenient and more connected, new virtual reality privacy concerns can also appear.
New Tech, New Concerns
That is the current understanding of innovations like virtual reality and augmented reality. These high-tech, digital forms of media—used for everything from education and business to entertainment—create new virtual reality privacy dangers by placing the user in entirely fabricated situations and locations, usually thanks to special software that interacts with their visual hardware.
Popular games like Pokémon Go, for example, allow the player to walk around in the real world while finding virtual characters in their actual surroundings.
Misuse of Your Personal Information
By giving access to your phone, tablet or computer to another platform in order to participate in these kinds of activities, you are opening yourself up to potential new virtual reality privacy concerns. Any time someone else can access your stored photos, camera and Facebook account or friends list, there is a possibility of them misusing that access.
Even worse, any time a platform is free to use, it is a sure sign that your information is being sold to third-parties. You have no way of knowing who those other companies are or what they plan to do with your information.
Virtual Reality User Permissions
It is important that companies who utilize these technologies understand the new virtual reality privacy concerns of interacting with consumers in this way. However, it is equally important that users know how their information could be compromised. It is a reminder that we all must be cautious about the latest gadgets and games, and to understand what permissions we are granting when we create an account or allow access to our information. If you cannot verify what a company can do with your connection, it is better to play it safe and avoid interacting.
Contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at 888.400.5530.
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