Google wants to see your feet (for virtual shopping purposes) (www.engadget.com)

Google has added virtual shoe try‑on to its shopping experience in the US: when browsing shoes you can tap a pair and upload a full‑length photo of yourself, and Google’s AI will replace the shoes in the image so you can preview how they look with your outfit. The tool favors solo, upright photos with good lighting, simple backgrounds and non‑baggy clothing; it rejects images of children and asks users to only upload photos they own. Google emphasizes the output is an approximation—meant to show appearance, not to guarantee fit or precise body-aware sizing. The update extends Google’s broader AI shopping push (including interactive “AI Mode” queries and follow‑ups) and demonstrates practical use of on‑device or cloud image editing and pose/segmentation capabilities to support commerce. Google also makes privacy promises: it says uploaded photos won’t be stored as biometric data, used to train models, or shared with other apps/third parties, and users can delete originals and generated images. For retailers and developers this lowers a UX barrier to buying footwear online, but limitations around fit accuracy and the need for good input photos mean it’s best treated as a visual aid rather than a sizing tool.