Is It Possible to Make Smart Glasses That Aren’t Creepy?
The article explores the privacy concerns surrounding smart glasses, specifically focusing on Meta's products and the potential for unauthorized recording. It discusses the industry's struggle to balance consumer demand for wearable tech with public privacy expectations.
Why it matters
As major tech companies like Apple and Google enter the smart glasses market, the debate over surveillance and consent is becoming a critical regulatory and social issue.
That also means the industry is garnering its fair share of criticism, mostly focusing on the fact that creeps can abuse camera-equipped smart glasses to capture photos and videos of people without their knowledge or consent.
The prime target for such criticism is the biggest company in the space, Meta. The company’s smart glasses can capture images, audio, and video of whatever and whoever the wearer is looking at. That alone is enough to alarm anyone concerned about protecting their privacy. Meta’s smart glasses do have an indicator light to warn bystanders when they’re being recorded, though some Meta users have figured out how to bypass those safety features and disable the lights. More recently, the company has added anti-tamper features that disable the glasses if a user has meddled with them.
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