Your next phone could have a camera that's always watching.

Chipmaker Qualcomm recently unveiled its latest Snapdragon processor, which has a feature that can keep the front-facing cameras always on. The company says the camera offers convenience. But some observers are raising concerns.

"The privacy implications of always-on cameras are disastrous," Michael Huth, head of the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, told Lifewire in an email interview. "If users don't have control over the cameras on their phones or handsets, they completely lose their privacy and freedom."

According to Qualcomm, the always-on camera feature can be used to wake up your phone when you look at it.