Sony, much like any electronic manufacturer, patents all sorts of odds and ends. Some of these patents eventually make their way into products, but some are merely to protect ideas, inventions, and intellectual property. This latest patent filed by Sony, we hope is only the latter.
We've seen heart rate sensors on consoles, and even Kinect offers some sort of facial and body shape recognition. But Sony wants to take it even further by using a number of biometric readings to identify users, including retinal scanning, fingerprint sensors, and even your DNA.
At first the implications seem innocent, using the data to tailor the user experience with things like profiles, or to make recommendations based on a user's interests.
However, the patent goes on to declare how the data could be used to prevent content from being shared with other users, or to thwart hacking, piracy, and the transfer of content should the user decide to sell his or her console in the future.
The most terrifying bit of this information is the fact that this biometric data, possibly your DNA data, would be stored on Sony's servers. And we all know how secure Sony's servers can be.
