14 DAY TRIAL // Google has its work cut out ahead of it with Glass. The company has learned to treat privacy issues, real or imagined, seriously. And with a device like Glass, these issues can pop up where you least expect them.
Thus, it's understandable that Google is treating Glass and the app environment differently than it does with Android for example.
Already, the company has come out and said that it won't allow apps with facial recognition features. This was in response to one company announcing that it was working on a facial recognition API for Glass.
Now, Google is turning its eye to adult apps. Since this is the first thing many people thought about when they saw the head-mounted, hands-free device, it's a wonder it took so long for someone to come up with an "adult content" app and for Google to ban it.
Strictly speaking, Google didn't ban anything, it just made it clear, via its developer policies, that no adult content can be used in Glassware, i.e. officially approved apps for Glass.
Of course, since you can root Glass, you can build and install any app you wish, if you really want to.
That said, MiKandi, the maker of the adult Glass app that spurred the policy change, has said it will adapt to the new rules.
"When we received our Glass and started developing our app 2 weeks ago, we went through the policy very carefully to make sure we were developing the app within the terms. We double checked again last week when making the site live on the Internet and available for install for testing during last week’s announcement," MiKandi wrote.
"We were not notified of any changes and still haven’t been notified by Google. We also double checked our emails to see if any notifications of policy changes were announced, but we haven’t found any such emails," it added.
"Although the app is still live and people are using it, at this point we must make changes to the app in order to comply with the new policies," it announced.