Google Forbids Buyers Remorse: Google Glasses Can Be Remotely Deactivated If Sold Or Given Away

Google Glass Explorer Edition, the beta version of Google’s futuristic headset device, has begun shipping out to developers. But along with the $1,500 device comes Google’s terms of sale, which has some interesting language regarding the reselling and lending of Google's smart glasses. Not only does Google completely forbid any such transactions, but the company also has the ability to remotely deactivate Glass if they find a user in violation of these terms.

This precaution to prevent Glass from getting to the general public before the device is ready makes sense, but it’s still a bit creepy. Can Google detect who is using each Google Glass? Does it have the ability to remotely deactivate it if it thinks the wrong person is using it?

Ars Technica reached out to Google to find out if there will be similar restrictions with the public release of Google Glass, but the company declined to comment. We have also reached out to Google and have yet to hear back.

At least one person has already been affected by Google's tight terms of sale. According to Wired, a man planning to turn a profit by selling an Explorer Edition on eBay abruptly halted the auction when he learned about the rule. The auction started at $5,000 and reached $90,000.

So if you do get selected by Google to be one first Google Glass users, you better be happy with your $1,500 purchase. The terms of sale also note that no one will get a refund if Google deactivates a device.

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