Many facial recognition solutions depend on cloud services, introducing latency, privacy concerns, and internet requirements, but Perch Eye SDK takes a different approach by performing face comparison entirely on-device, allowing mobile applications to deliver fast, reliable results without sending biometric data to external servers. Built for iOS and Android, the SDK integrates advanced AI-powered facial recognition into mobile apps while maintaining offline functionality. This makes it well suited for identity verification, authentication, access control, attendance systems, and other privacy-sensitive use cases where connectivity cannot be guaranteed. By processing everything locally, developers can improve response times while reducing infrastructure costs and strengthening user privacy. Perch Eye SDK gives businesses a practical way to add secure, high-performance facial comparison to mobile applications without relying on cloud-based processing or constant network access. Image Credit: Perch Eye SDK Key Themes Behind This Trend - Offline Biometrics - On-device facial comparison creates room for faster identity experiences that preserve privacy and reduce dependence on network availability. - Edge AI Authentication - Mobile-based AI processing is reshaping authentication by lowering cloud infrastructure needs while enabling secure access in low-connectivity environments. - Privacy-first Recognition - Local biometric matching supports emerging digital trust models where sensitive personal data remains on the user’s device instead of external servers. Where This Applies - Mobile Security - Authentication platforms gain new potential from embedded facial recognition that improves response times while limiting exposure of biometric information. - Access Control - Physical and digital entry systems can evolve around offline face comparison for reliable verification in workplaces, venues, and restricted facilities. - Identity Verification - KYC, attendance, and user onboarding services benefit from mobile-first biometric checks that operate securely without constant cloud connectivity.
Jul 1, 2026 · via trendhunter.com
Apple’s Hide My Email feature is a convenient privacy tool that uses disposable addresses to hide a user’s true email for the sake of online anonymity. Unfortunately, new research appears to show that a bug in the feature allows users’ real email addresses to be unmasked. The bug was reported by 404 Media, which says that it has tested and verified that the vulnerability exists. Tyler Murphy, the researcher who found the bug, said that he warned Apple about the problem over a year ago and that it was unclear why the company had yet to remedy the problem. All of the attempts to exploit the bug have been successful, Murphy added. “We don’t know the full scope of the issue, but in our limited tests with volunteers, 100% of Hide My Email addresses were exploitable,” Murphy told the outlet. Details of the vulnerability haven’t been publicly disclosed, for fear that it will be exploited. Murphy is the co-founder of EasyOptOuts, which offers a paid data-removal service that takes your information off of data broker sites. He told 404 Media that “publicly accessible people-search sites make it easy to link an email address to other personal details, so people relying on Hide My Email for safety may be at risk.” TechCrunch reached out to Apple for more information and will update this story if it responds. When it comes to the tech world, privacy tools are hard to come by and, unfortunately, even when they do exist, they don’t always work. Apple has been accused of this sort of thing before. Case in point: The company was sued in 2022 after it was reported that iPhone apps continued to send analytics data to Apple even when the iPhone Analytics privacy setting was turned on. Similarly, in 2023, researchers found another
Jul 1, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
This editorial was written by Sheena Magenya and Smita V. of the Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Rights Programme (APC WRP). It is part of Global Voices’ June 2026 Spotlight series, “Gender Diversity” and was originally posted on the Global Voices website. This series offers insight into gender diversity and how it is being threatened, protected, and preserved around the world. You can support this coverage by donating here. When NASA was preparing for the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, the engineers asked Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, if 100 tampons were enough for a six-day flight. In November 2025, the US Transportation Department unveiled THOR-05F, the first crash test dummy specifically based on a woman’s body, and not just a scaled-down version of the crash test dummy based on men’s bodies. Several new model cars today, by default, unlock all doors as soon as the car is put into “park’ or when the ignition is turned off, which can be particularly unsafe for women and LGBTQ+ people. This setting has to be manually changed. Closer to home, in various social justice spaces and conferences, there are often panels and conversations taking place that only have men speaking and moderating. Colloquially called “manels,” they are a visible indicator and reminder of how the lack of gender diversity in a conversation is not seen as a problem or even as something unusual. The literal absence of women and gender diverse people across all levels of design and decision-making can be, and is often, dangerous and life-threatening to over half the global population. Inversely, in many contexts where non-heteronormative sexuality and gender expression are legally and socially criminalized, LGBTQ+ people and women are often scapegoats for moral social decay and are positioned as the reason for failed
Jul 1, 2026 · via apc.org
This editorial was written by Sheena Magenya and Smita V. of the Association for Progressive Communications Women’s Rights Programme (APC WRP). It is part of Global Voices’ June 2026 Spotlight series, “Gender Diversity” and was originally posted on the Global Voices website. This series offers insight into gender diversity and how it is being threatened, protected, and preserved around the world. You can support this coverage by donating here. When NASA was preparing for the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, the engineers asked Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, if 100 tampons were enough for a six-day flight. In November 2025, the US Transportation Department unveiled THOR-05F, the first crash test dummy specifically based on a woman’s body, and not just a scaled-down version of the crash test dummy based on men’s bodies. Several new model cars today, by default, unlock all doors as soon as the car is put into “park’ or when the ignition is turned off, which can be particularly unsafe for women and LGBTQ+ people. This setting has to be manually changed. Closer to home, in various social justice spaces and conferences, there are often panels and conversations taking place that only have men speaking and moderating. Colloquially called “manels,” they are a visible indicator and reminder of how the lack of gender diversity in a conversation is not seen as a problem or even as something unusual. The literal absence of women and gender diverse people across all levels of design and decision-making can be, and is often, dangerous and life-threatening to over half the global population. Inversely, in many contexts where non-heteronormative sexuality and gender expression are legally and socially criminalized, LGBTQ+ people and women are often scapegoats for moral social decay and are positioned as the reason for failed
Jul 1, 2026 · via apc.org
From body cams to subdermals – what’s next for wearable biometrics? By Professor Fraser Sampson, former UK Biometrics & Surveillance Camera Commissioner Innovative technology becomes de rigueur quickly – for an example of how quickly, look at media coverage of police body cam images. Introduced in the UK in 2014 for police firearms officers following the shooting of Mark Duggan, body worn cameras (BWC) are now as commonplace in law enforcement as the radio or the Taser – so commonplace in fact that suspicions are raised when their data is not available for a controversial incident. The use case for BWC has migrated rapidly to other public-facing roles like firefighters and emergency departments and is also on the increase in private security settings like retail. Reasons for the increased reliance on wearable tech in business and public services are largely pragmatic. Sounds and images can support a police investigation and prosecution, but their primary contribution is prevention. Basic security cameras aren’t preventing incidents – particularly in retail – and some of the UK’s most camera-intensive spaces have recorded the highest increases in volume crime. Knowing that you’re being individually filmed has a powerful influence on behaviour and research studies show how giving staff BWCs decreased the risk of assault, both for employees wearing them and co-workers in their vicinity, de-escalating aggression and violence. BWC can also help avoid or settle complaints about staff and researchers have found the cams give private security personnel “legitimacy by association” with police use of the same tech. Whether reported misuse by the police will have a blowback effect remains to be seen. Personalisation of the technology is also part of the employee experience. Being issued with BWC signals personal investment in employees beyond blanket coverage of ‘workplace assets’, giving staff a feeling of prioritisation
Jul 1, 2026 · via biometricupdate.com
I know perfectly well that complaining about the growing presence of generative AI and muttering darkly to anyone who will listen that “they’re watching us” is giving tinfoil-hat survivalist whom everyone avoids in the checkout line at the grocery store. But honestly, thanks to the ubiquity of Ring cameras, data brokerage, and facial-recognition technology, sundry forms of surveillance are now a regular part of modern American life. My anxiety about one day living in a Big Tech–enabled police state is real—but for the most part, it hasn’t actually altered the way I live. I use a data-scrubbing service to keep as much of my personal information offline as I can, but that’s primarily because I write for the internet and people frequently get mad enough at me that I’m vulnerable to doxxing campaigns. But beyond that, I remain glued to my unethically made iPhone, I attend political protests with my face and tattoos visible (to anyone reading this: Please do as the ACLU says, not as I do), and I frequently supply my full name and email address to access questionable miscellany like a 5% discount on my dog’s small-breed kibble. I know I need to do some work to untangle myself from the surveillance culture I fear and decry, but I’m nothing if not a lover of shortcuts, so when I was given the opportunity to try out some products from Ohmni, a clothing line launched in 2025 by musician M.I.A. with the goal of “safeguarding personal privacy and autonomy by offering items designed to block electromagnetic frequencies,” I couldn’t resist learning more. Here, at last, were cheekily literal tinfoil hats and anti-facial-recognition balaclavas that draw inspiration from the style of groups like…the Irish Republican Army. No, I don’t always agree with M.I.A.’s politics, to say the least, but
Jul 1, 2026 · via vogue.com
Humans have been successfully trained to spot AI-generated faces in a study involving researchers at the University of Aberdeen. AI-generated deepfake faces have become so realistic that it is difficult for people to tell them apart from photos of real humans, contributing to increases in AI-related fraud. “Training on visual artifacts, like looking for a sixth finger or odd earrings, has had limited success, partly because the AI is getting too good, and fraudsters may avoid using pictures with obvious flaws anyway,’’ said lead researcher Associate Professor Amy Dawel, Director of the Australian National University (ANU) Emotions and Faces Lab. “Our training directs people’s attention to global qualities that differ between AI and human faces. AI faces tend to be more symmetrical, proportional and attractive, but without training we often think these are markers of being human.” Now, the team, based in Australia, Canada and the UK, have shown that people can learn to recognise AI faces, given the right exposure, representing an important breakthrough for combating AI-misinformation. The researchers trained people to spot AI-generated faces by drawing their attention to six perceptual qualities: distinctiveness, memorability, proportionality, symmetry, attractiveness and expressiveness. The ability of all participants to spot AI faces improved, with “high performers” achieving near perfection. The UK lead for the project, Dr Clare Sutherland from the University of Aberdeen, said: “This project is particularly exciting because it’s not always been straightforward to train people on face recognition skills.” “However, over time, as the team worked with the face images, we started to get a feel for which faces ‘looked like’ AI ones. We have also found that 'super-recognisers’, or people who are inherently good with faces, do a slightly better job at discriminating AI faces.” “Our new work shows that people can indeed learn to recognise AI faces
Jul 1, 2026 · via abdn.ac.uk
Sainsbury’s is expanding its use of facial recognition cameras to up to 150 more supermarkets before Christmas as it steps up efforts to tackle shoplifting and abuse against staff. The company already has the AI-powered Facewatch system live in 55 stores, following earlier trials in Sydenham and Bath Oldfield Park. The technology alerts trained store colleagues when someone who has previously been involved in violence, aggression or theft is identified entering a participating branch. Sainsbury’s said all alerts are reviewed by people before any action is taken, while images of shoppers who are not matched are deleted instantly. The company previously said the system has a 99.98 per cent accuracy rate and is not used to monitor everyday customers or colleagues. The rollout follows encouraging results from Sainsbury’s early trial, which found incidents of theft, harm, aggression and antisocial behaviour fell 46 per cent across stores using the technology. It also said 92 per cent of identified offenders did not return. However, the expansion is likely to draw scrutiny from privacy campaigners following concerns over the use of the technology in retail settings. Earlier this year, shopper Warren Rajah said he was wrongly asked to leave a Sainsbury’s store in Elephant and Castle after being misidentified by staff using the system. Sainsbury’s later apologised, while Facewatch said Rajah was not on its database and attributed the incident to human error rather than a technology alert. Sainsbury’s has previously insisted its use of facial recognition is “intentional and transparent”, with clear signage in stores where the technology is operating. It said the system is designed only to identify individuals who have previously shown violent, aggressive or criminal behaviour in participating stores. Sainsbury’s said at the time: “Colleagues should never feel at risk while doing their jobs and customers should always feel
Jul 1, 2026 · via retailgazette.co.uk
TOKYO, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- SwitchBot, a leading provider of AI-enabled embodied home robotics systems, today announced the availability of the SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K, an outdoor security camera designed to deliver wider coverage, clearer detail, and smarter AI-powered insights for home monitoring. Designed to improve the household monitoring of yards, driveways, entrances, shops, and outdoor spaces with greater confidence, SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K combines 360° pan-and-tilt coverage, 5MP image clarity, full-color night vision, flexible installation, and AI-powered event understanding in one outdoor-ready device. AI Insight Powered by Vision-Language-Model* Powered by VLM, SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K goes beyond traditional motion alerts by providing proactive event understanding with AI insights, rather than just displaying that something moved. The first function of AI Insight is AI Event Alert; the camera can summarize situations in natural language, such as a delivery arriving, a person returning home, an animal entering the yard, or a suspicious person approaching. Secondly, users can also search video footage with natural language, making it easier to find important moments such as a car being scratched on the street or a pet playing in the yard during the day, without manually reviewing hours of recordings. Moreover, AI recognition helps identify people, vehicles, animals, and objects, reducing unnecessary alerts caused by insects or irrelevant motion while keeping users focused on events that matter. More specifically, advanced VLM features can identify animal types such as bears, deer, and coyotes, helping outdoor users understand what entered the monitored area. Last but not least, compared with traditional cameras that only monitor, SwitchBot Outdoor Pan/Tilt Cam 3K can work with SwitchBot devices for active security automation, such as turning on lights when someone enters the yard while the user is away. *Some AI understanding features require AI Guard subscription. See SwitchBot's
Jul 1, 2026 · via en.prnasia.com
PaintCare Unveils New AI-Powered Product Recognition Tool to Help Paint Consumers Quickly Identify PaintCare Products PaintCare, the nonprofit organization created by the American Coatings Association to make it easy for households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, today announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence–powered product recognition tool designed to help paint consumers quickly determine whether their leftover products are accepted at PaintCare drop off locations. July 1, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. — PaintCare, the nonprofit organization created by the American Coatings Association to make it easy for households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, today announced the launch of a new artificial intelligence–powered product recognition tool designed to help paint consumers quickly determine whether their leftover products are accepted at PaintCare drop off locations. Developed in partnership with the technology company Rubbish, the tool uses image recognition to identify common paint and paint related products and provide guidance on whether they are covered by the PaintCare program. By simply granting camera access or uploading a photo, users can receive instant feedback on whether their item is accepted for recycling, reuse, or proper disposal at a nearby PaintCare drop off site. “PaintCare’s new product recognition tool reflects the coatings industry’s long tradition of forward thinking innovation and responsible product stewardship,” said Mike Johnson, President and CEO of the American Coatings Association. “By pairing PaintCare’s proven stewardship model with cutting edge AI, we’re giving paint users a simple, intuitive tool to understand what they can bring to PaintCare’s drop off sites. It’s another example of how the coatings industry and PaintCare continue to lead with solutions that reduce waste, increase reuse, and make recycling more accessible for everyone.” The tool is designed to complement PaintCare’s existing online resources, including the popular Drop Off Site Locator, which connects users to more than
Jul 1, 2026 · via waste360.com
Last Updated on 07/01/2026 by Chris Gampat Sony photographers have been spoiled for choices. The company has introduced some fantastic cameras over the years, and it seems that they are now focusing on smaller sensor devices. After the launch of the R1XR Mk III, a luxury compact camera for professionals, it seems that Sony has something in store for birding and wildlife photography enthusiasts. Have a look. After almost a decade of silence, Sony is said to introduce the RX10 V. Sony Alpha Rumor (SAR) reported that the camera is set to launch in July. The two things that the portal confirmed, in addition to the date, are a new, larger NP-FZ100 battery and a new image processing chip. The battery has been used in Sony’s Alpha mirrorless lineup, and a new battery could help with one of the most common complaints: shorter battery life. In fact, a new battery can also help with the support of BIONZ XR chips, which can help with better AI-driven subject recognition autofocus and real-time tracking. It can also fulfill video needs, which is ideal for some hybrid users. While SAR has not revealed any specifications, one can also assume that the camera will house the same 20.1-megapixel stacked 1-inch Exmor RS sensor. The changes will largely be how the images are processed. In addition, the iconic 24-600mm lens from the 9-year-old RX10 IV is also expected to remain the same. Until some concrete evidence is introduced, it is best to assume that the camera can have limited changes. For instance, the A1 II featured the same sensor, but the AI chip helped to get a better autofocus for photographers who photograph people. While we have not tested the RX10 IV, we did make a brief first impression of the camera. The Sony RX10
Jul 1, 2026 · via thephoblographer.com
Elon Musk, briefly the world’s first trillionaire – but now a mere billionaire again – is a man of exceptions. He’s built not one, but two of the world’s most pioneering technology companies (Tesla and SpaceX). He was talking about settling humans on Mars with a straight face some 20 years ago. Unlike most tech CEOs, he posts on social media multiple times daily, via his own platform, X. In 2025, he gave what looked like a Nazi salute, very publicly, in Washington DC. That same year, he held a very senior role in the United States government, with no prior political experience, while simultaneously expanding his business empire. In his brief and chaotic tenure as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he tried to turn government into a problem of data synthesis and pattern recognition, leading to optimised policy solutions. All the while, he seemed to forget that real people, entitled to fairness and justice, were affected profoundly by his desk-based decisions. All this has made him a household name and one of the world’s most powerful individuals. Some, like journalist Cory Doctorow, have been asking: is he now exceptionally dangerous? And where does he fit in with other oft-criticised West Coast “broligarchs”, like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Palantir’s Alexander Karp and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg? Review: Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed – Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (Allen Lane) To answer these questions, you need to scrutinise both the man and the means at his disposal. This is exactly what Canadian political economist Quinn Slobodian and technology journalist Ben Tarnoff do in their carefully researched, well written and thought-provoking book, Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. “Muskism” is a reference to “Fordism”, named after industrialist and motor vehicle manufacturer Henry Ford, whose mass production model altered American
Jun 30, 2026 · via theconversation.com
ICE biometrics underpin broader surveillance network, report argues A coalition of privacy and civil liberties organizations says that biometric systems deployed by ICE and CBP have evolved from identity verification tools into part of a broader surveillance infrastructure. The report, The Tech Behind ICE: Oligarchs, Immigration Enforcement and the Threat to Democracy, by Mijente, Just Futures Law, and Surveillance Resistance Lab, argues that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving biometric and AI-driven enforcement beyond airports, ports of entry, and detention facilities into neighborhoods and immigration operations, putting privacy and civil rights at risk. Its central argument is not about a single biometric system, but the linking of face images, fingerprints, iris scans, and DNA with wider government and commercial data networks used to identify, profile, and target people. The report’s larger argument is that biometrics have become a gateway to a broader surveillance architecture. It says Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can connect biometric identifiers with immigration records, social media activity, location data, vehicle records, and commercial datasets. A system built ostensibly to locate noncitizens can also reach family members, co-workers, journalists, protesters, legal observers, and others who encounter or document immigration enforcement, and has, the report warns. The authors identify privacy, consent, accuracy, and accountability as their principal concerns. They say federal oversight agencies and civil rights groups have raised questions about privacy violations, improper sharing of photographs, and errors in facial recognition systems. The report argues that facial recognition tools can reveal not only an identity in a public space, but also a person’s professional role, religious affiliation, family, and social relationships, political views, travel patterns, and home address, without consent, a warrant, or probable cause. “Critical civil rights questions remain about the impact on civil, privacy, and consumer rights
Jun 30, 2026 · via biometricupdate.com
It was a full house at the Tuesday, June 23 meeting of the Stoughton City Council, as around a dozen people spoke during the public comment period against the Stoughton Police Department’s use of Flock cameras. Residents spoke of concerns about the use of facial recognition software, violating privacy rights, and the possibility of data being misused by a third party used by the company. In a presentation to the council, Stoughton Police Chief Brandon Hill said the department has been using Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) cameras since 2019, including a squad car that was formerly equipped with a camera, and asked council members to allow the department to continue using them. He said the department formerly had a contract with a company that was going out of business, so they switched to Flock, a competitor. “We started talking about it in 2018 (and) we got a grant from the Bryant Foundation,” he said. “This isn’t something new. We needed to switch vendors for this tool that we’ve used now for eight years. We found Flock was the best provider in what we were looking for.” How it works The city currently leases cameras from Flock Safety in a contract that expires in December of 2027. They use two types of cameras - ALPRs and pole cameras, which have a live video feed, Cameras were installed in May on major roadways and high police call volume areas. Once construction on Hwy. 51 is completed, SPD will have four ALPR cameras and one pole camera. Once an image of a vehicle or license plate is captured, it is searched through different lists, such as stolen vehicles or missing/endangered people. Alerts notify the department that a vehicle or license plate image was captured and where it was located for officers to
Jun 30, 2026 · via stoughtonnews.com
This editorial was written by Sheena Magenya and Smita V. of the Association for Progressive Communications-Women’s Rights Programme (APC WRP). It is part of Global Voices’ June 2026 Spotlight series, “Gender Diversity.” This series offers insight into gender diversity and how it is being threatened, protected, and preserved around the world. You can support this coverage by donating here. When NASA was preparing for the launch of Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983, the engineers asked Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, if 100 tampons were enough for a six-day flight. In November 2025, the US Transportation Department unveiled THOR-05F, the first crash test dummy specifically based on a woman’s body, and not just a scaled-down version of the crash test dummy based on men’s bodies. Several new model cars today, by default, unlock all doors as soon as the car is put into “park’ or when the ignition is turned off, which can be particularly unsafe for women and LGBTQ+ people. This setting has to be manually changed. Closer to home, in various social justice spaces and conferences, there are often panels and conversations taking place that only have men speaking and moderating. Colloquially called “manels,” they are a visible indicator and reminder of how the lack of gender diversity in a conversation is not seen as a problem or even as something unusual. The literal absence of women and gender diverse people across all levels of design and decision-making can be, and is often, dangerous and life-threatening to over half the global population. Inversely, in many contexts where non-heteronormative sexuality and gender expression are legally and socially criminalized, LGBTQ+ people and women are often scapegoats for moral social decay and are positioned as the reason for failed governance or even natural disasters. Through digital misinformation and disinformation,
Jun 30, 2026 · via globalvoices.org
Proton, the privacy-focused productivity app company, released a public AI chatbot, Lumo, last year. On Tuesday, the chatbot received an upgrade. Lumo 2.0 gives the chatbot a variety of newfound powers, including image recognition and image generation capabilities. Users can now upload pictures into Lumo, then use the chatbot to analyze or edit them. Similar to other LLMs, Lumo can also generate imagery based on a user’s prompt. Version 2.0 also expands Lumo’s capabilities for Projects — the widget that allows users to upload documents and conduct work via Proton’s other products like email and cloud storage. Projects now come with user-controlled persistent memory, which is a function that allows Lumo to recall a user’s preferences across various conversational sessions. Additionally, the company says Lumo’s update makes it significantly more powerful than its previous version. The 2.0 version responds to most queries up to 76% faster than its previous iteration, the company says. The chatbot also comes with a new “thinking mode” for more complex problems or questions. “Lumo 2.0 has been re-engineered from the ground up and the introduction of thinking mode gives it powerful new capabilities,” said Andy Yen, founder and CEO at Proton. “Lumo 2.0 demonstrates that users no longer need to choose between powerful AI capabilities and meaningful privacy protections.” The public version of Lumo appears roughly equivalent to other major chatbots in terms of usefulness. It answers questions in a similar format as Gemini and ChatGPT, with approximately the same level of detail and context. Yet, Proton distinguishes Lumo from other chatbot providers with its privacy protections. It uses what it calls zero-access encryption architecture, which encrypts users’ data in transit and at rest, only allowing access to the user. The company also claims that no server-side logging of sessions is retained, so nobody at
Jun 30, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
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Jun 30, 2026 · via realestate.com.au
Google announced on Monday that the Gemini app is now offering its personalized Nano Banana-powered image generation feature to a broader audience. Starting today, all eligible users in the U.S. can access the feature for free, a service that was previously only available to Plus, Pro, and Ultra subscribers. Google initially announced that Gemini’s Personal Intelligence feature would get Nano Banana-powered image generation back in April, allowing users to create images that reflect their unique interests. This means that images can be generated based on Gemini’s understanding of your likes and preferences without you having to specify them in your prompt. Gemini utilizes data from your Google account connections — such as Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube, and Search — to achieve this. For example, instead of saying, “Create an illustration of me and my favorite things, such as coffee and baking,” you can simply request, “Create an illustration of me and my favorite things.” Gemini can also pull actual images of you from Google Photos, so you don’t need to manually upload photos. Google initially rolled out the Personal Intelligence feature earlier this year, making it widely available to all U.S. users in March. The company recently expanded this functionality to users in India and Japan. Personal Intelligence is an opt-in feature, allowing you to decide which apps Gemini can access. Once enabled, it is set as the default for every prompt, but you can disable it using a new toggle in the Tools menu. Additionally, last month, Google announced several upcoming updates for the Gemini app, including a new “Daily Brief” feature, a revamped interface, access to AI video model Gemini Omni, and a personal AI agent named Gemini Spark. Notably, Google’s AI chatbot Gemini surpassed 750 million monthly active users (MAUs) earlier this year, reinforcing its position as
Jun 30, 2026 · via techcrunch.com
Proton has announced version 2.0 of its Lumo AI assistant, which the company first introduced last year. This new version ships with a "new architecture" and features like reasoning alongside multimodal image processing and upgraded web search. Lumo 2.0 introduces two reasoning modes: Fast and Thinking, and you can probably guess what each one does. The "Fast" mode prioritizes response speed but may sacrifice deep logical breakdown in the process. On the other hand, the Thinking mode slows down to analyze multi-step problems with a visible thinking state. Previous versions of Lumo were only able to handle text, but version 2.0 changes that with support for image processing. This update brings both image recognition and image generation directly to the assistant. Users can upload a chart, document, screenshot, or photo for the AI to analyze. The system reads this visual data to answer your questions. It also generates custom visuals from text prompts and refines rough sketches into styled images. The assistant can also edit existing photos by swapping backgrounds or removing objects. Other features in this release include upgraded web search capabilities that pull live data directly from the internet. The tool easily retrieves current financial reports and weather forecasts to keep answers accurate. Lumo 2.0 also includes a memory feature to remember stuff you told it in past chats. This allows the assistant to learn your working style and preferences over time. You control this memory completely and can tell Lumo to forget details whenever you want. You can also create your own Custom Lumos, specialized assistants that help you do stuff like writing in a particular style or translating technical terms, while performing specialized research without re-explaining instructions. Proton said that on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, its Lumo 2.0 Lite model scores 127% higher than Lumo
Jun 30, 2026 · via neowin.net
Last summer, Swiss-based Proton launched Lumo, an AI assistant with a privacy-first approach. Today, the company has announced Lumo 2.0, a major update to the chatbot that brings three new features commensurate with its core principles of no logs, no data sharing, and zero-access encryption. Proton says Lumo 2 has been rebuilt on a new architecture that brings its biggest leap in capability to date, with Fast and Thinking modes now available. Fast of course prioritizes speed, while Thinking is optimized for more complex, multi-step reasoning. Proton says Lumo 2 responds to everyday queries up to 76 percent faster than Lumo 1.4. Beyond the new architecture, Lumo 2 also boasts multimodal capabilities such as image generation and image recognition. Users can now upload an image to analyze, create visuals from a prompt or a rough sketch, or edit existing images, all in the same conversation. On top of the new features, Lumo 2.0 has far stronger web search compared to Lumo 1.4, according to the company. There's also a Memory feature that lets Lumo learn your preferences, working style, and ongoing context, with the context window now twice as large. Lumo 2.0 also introduces Custom Lumos, described as enabling purpose-built assistants that can be tailored to specific tasks, such as a research assistant that structures answers the way you need them. Lumo is free to use at Lumo.proton.me and does not require a Proton account when accessed. However, if you have a Proton account, your chat history can be saved using the company's "zero-access" encryption across all your devices. There are also mobile apps for iPhone and Android. For power users, Lumo Plus brings unlimited chats, Projects, advanced image generation, and priority access to the fastest models. Plus costs $12.99 per month, and there's also a Lumo Professional plan for
Jun 30, 2026 · via macrumors.com