An Arab-America citizen called Yasir Afifi sued the FBI for violating his privacy rights by placing a tracking device on his car without a warrant because of his racial background.
Apple recently introduced a tool that lets developers anonymously track users, phasing out use of the old device ID that some privacy advocates said could be coupled with enough data to identify people.
News of the device prompted concerns from privacy advocates, though they also saw a potential benefit: It might render unnecessary the legally disputed police policy of stopping and frisking people who haven't been first identified as suspects in crimes.
Google has said data recorded by the device would be bound by its current privacy policy, meaning it could be collected in an anonymous way and the company would hold data about specific individuals only if they explicitly agree to it, the same as with smartphone-related data.
Now that over half of the United States owns a smartphone, and nearly 20 percent of consumers report that device to be their primary camera, everyone should be on the alert about the privacy of their videos and pictures.