No, airlines are not watching you (yet)



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In the privacy news totally cool and very reassuring this week, you can must protect your personal information in an extra place, apart from any laptop or phone: an airplane seat.

Recently, during a flight on a Singapore Airlines flight, a Twitter user vkamluk took a picture of an entertainment console (or television, in non-aerial language), with a camera placed clearly underneath. What exactly is it for, ask yourself? In the end, nothing at all – that's what the airline said.

"These cameras have been turned off on our planes and there is no plan to develop features using these cameras," the airline said. tweeted in response. And they are not the only airline to have a camera problem.

Originally, Buzzfeed News reported that American Airlines also had at least one aircraft equipped with cameras installed on each television console. According to Ross Feinstein, spokesman for American Airlines, these cameras have not been "activated", so for now, you do not have to worry!

"Cameras are a standard feature of many in-flight entertainment systems used by many airlines," Feinstein told Lifehacker. "Manufacturers of these systems have included cameras for future uses, such as seat-to-seat video conferencing. Although these cameras are present on certain American Airlines flight entertainment systems, such as they are delivered by the manufacturer, they have never been activated and American does not plan to use them. "

In other words, it is the manufacturers' fault for the installation of cameras that American Airlines and other airlines do not intend to use, but that they still bought.

But let's be honest. Watching yourself eat on a tray and sleep do not worry or worry about your data. Yes, you can say that if you use a laptop, browse Amazon and throw your credit card left, right and center, you would not want to be monitored. But again, why would you do this in such a public setting?

"In general, I do not like the idea of ​​an invasion of privacy," said Oded Weinstock, security consultant at Paragon Security. "But the flights are not private, they belong to the public domain. You are facing other people, you should do your best when you take a flight. On the contrary, if they record it, [it’s] more security on flights, we will feel safer. "

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When asked if these cameras could be activated, Weinstock answered yes. "Any camera connected to a system can potentially record."

And what would an airline do with your information anyway? Maybe not much, but if we have learned in recent years, its third parties who obtain this information can become a real threat.

For the moment, this seems like a minor concern and it's not a subtle camera either: sticking a piece of tape over it certainly could not hurt.


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