Microsoft has been pushing its Xbox SmartGlass apps as ways to offer consumers a "second screen" experience between the Xbox 360 console and mobile devices running on iOS, Android, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. But is there more to Xbox SmartGlass than just discovering more information about Game of Thrones?

As it turns out, the answer is "Yes." The Escapist reports that during a presentation this week at the Game Developers Conference, Microsoft's Rosa Thomas said that she had discovered that Xbox SmartGlass, when connected to the Xbox 360, can also serve as a way to check up on what other people who are playing on the console are doing.

She stated:

So, interesting enough, I was at work, testing my stuff, and I'm looking and I forgot that I had actually connected to my home Xbox, and I got to see what my kids were doing at home. It's a great way to spy on your kids, I'll tell you.
The implications for this feature are that parents who have the app installed on a mobile device could see if their children are playing games that they are not supposed to be playing. Of course, the Xbox 360 already has parental controls built in that can let parents set how much time their children can play games and which games they are allowed to play, based on their ratings.

One funny side effect of this Xbox SmartGlass control is being able to remotely control video streaming services like Netflix. Thomas indicated she got a bit of a laugh by pausing her husband's video on Netflix, which made him think there was something wrong with the app.

Posted: Mar 28, 2013 10:03 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-xbox-smartglass-can-be-used-to-spy-on-your-kids