Vetmoji, the new emoji-keyboard app for Android and iPhone, is supposed to be some light-hearted fun for those in uniform. There's a selection of silly faces in camouflage hats, a soundboard of phrases like “Bravo Zulu”, and gifs of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America waving flags. The app, produced for IAVA with Kapps media, also contains a quiet flaw: when someone uses the Vetmoji keyboard, the keyboard can access all the data they type.
In the past few years, keyboard makers have used sharp, angular designs that match the fantastical aesthetic seen in modern gaming to pitch their gaming keyboards at “stereotypical gamers.”
Whether it's on a keyboard, a smartphone, or even a credit card reader, you spend a lot of your day typing. Well, researchers at MIT noticed the value of this daily habit, and are putting it to a secondary use; they've developed software that can gauge the speed at which a typist is tapping the keyboard to help diagnose Parkinson's disease.
As you clicked onto our site this morning, think about where your smartphone was sitting. Was it next to your keyboard, where you could ensure you didn't miss any notifications? If so, your phone could track everything you wrote. It could use the accelerometer to detect keyboard vibrations, deciphering every word of your insightful anonymous commentary. A hacker could conceivably use it to find out everything you write, with up to 80 percent accuracy, researchers say.
