In order to write emails or text messages with Google Glass, you dictate words. The device is pleasantly reliable at transcribing things you say ... unless you happen to have a foul mouth. In that case, it'll make what you say "safe for work," even if you don't want to be censored.
Geek.com's Russell Holly was among the first to notice that the voice-to-text feature on Google Glass, much like that on Android, cleans up naughty words. If you drop an f-bomb, Glass will transcribe it as "f***." That favorite four-letter word for "excrement" becomes "s***." A female canine becomes "b****." There doesn't appear to be a way to circumvent this censorship. (If you say "dot-com" after the obscene word of your choice, it spells it out ... followed by ".com," as if it's a URL. Hardly a workaround.)
Those who are in the habit of using voice-to-text on their Android devices will probably not be surprised that Google's software cleans up dirty mouths. But the key difference is that Android users can get their devices to stop blocking "offensive" words — Glass users can't.
We've reached out to Google for comment on this silliness. In the meantime, it's worth noting that Glass is currently only available to "Glass Explorers," a group of early adopters who pre-ordered the device at last year's Google I/O developers conference or got through the #IfIHadGlass application process. The device is still in development and receiving monthly software updates. Plenty of things can change by the time Glass is widely available ... which means that the product might one day allow for some salty language.
Check back for more of Rosa Golijan's Google Glass experiences, as she spends her first week with the new technology. You can also keep up with her adventuresby following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her onGoogle+.