For your eyes only: Google will deactivate Glass if you loan or sell it

If you’re one of the lucky members of Google’s Glass Explorer team, who will be among the first members of the public to get their hands on the augmented reality glasses, you may want to spend some time looking at the fine print first. Specifically, the part where Google says that if anyone but you accesses the device, it will deactivate your US$1500 specs on the spot.

While the search giant hasn’t opened sales of Glass to the public, the first units are now rolling off the production line and into the hands of early adopters / beta testers who won a spot on the ‘Explorer’ team by taking part in Google’s #ifihadglass competition earlier this year. Shortly after that, auctions began popping up on eBay as members of Explorer programme realised they could sell off the device for thousands more than they paid Google. But the Googlers have a plan for that: and it involves rendering the expensive futuristic tech essentially useless and refusing to give you a refund.

The company’s terms of sale for the Explorer edition of the device (spotted by Wired) is quite clear:

Unless otherwise authorized by Google, you may only purchase one device, and you may not resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person. If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google’s authorization, Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and neither you nor the unauthorized person using the device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty.

So eBay sales are out — as one Glass owner discovered when he was pointed in the direction of the terms of use after the price offered for his specs passed the US$95 000 mark, and voluntarily ended the auction instead of risking losing his device. But how will Google know if you give your device to a friend? The devices are registered with a specific Google account — so if any other account logs in, Google can remotely deactivate it.

The news has raised questions about whether or not Google can place such heavy restrictions over a piece of technology — but it seems, for now, it’s a limitation the early adopters will have to be mindful of. The much-anticipated glasses, which feature a 5 megapixel camera and bone conduction audio, will be available to the general public later this year.