Google's Ask Photos feature isn't available in Texas and Illinois
Google's Ask Photos feature, a Gemini-powered photo editing tool, is currently unavailable in Texas and Illinois. The company confirmed this to Engadget, but did not provide a reason for the restriction. However, the article suggests that the unavailability of Ask Photos and the Conversational Editing feature in these two states is likely due to legal settlements over data privacy concerns. Specifically, Google settled a class action lawsuit in Illinois in 2022 for $200 million over Google Photos' data collection practices, and another lawsuit with Texas for $1.4 billion earlier this year. The common factor in these settlements was the use of biometric data, such as facial recognition, which is a feature of the Ask Photos and Conversational Editing tools. The article suggests that this legal situation has led Google to play it safe and restrict access to these features in Texas and Illinois.
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