Smart glasses aren’t exactly ubiquitous just yet. However, Meta does have an ace of a product up its sleeve: the bestselling Meta Ray-Bans, which are currently the subject of a lawsuit over privacy concerns. As it turns out, they can very easily capture photos and videos of unsuspecting bystanders without third parties’ knowledge. Swedish news outlets have reported that some of the footage captured by these glasses — including sensitive content like nudity — is reviewed by offshore Meta workers in Kenya.
Even beyond those concerns, smart glasses like Meta’s can secretly film people in public.
Let’s backtrack: Meta Ray-Bans look like a chunkier pair of normal black Ray-Ban Wayfarers, and the average person probably wouldn’t suspect that those frames contain a hidden camera.
When I told my friend about them, she was disgusted. “Ew,” she said. “Why do those exist?”
I’ve never owned a pair of smart glasses, but I saw them in the wild twice last year. Once was when I was riding the New York subway and noticed a person sitting across from me wearing the frames.
The other time was when I struck up a conversation with a guy at a bar. It took a minute in the dimly lit room, but then I recognized the telltale signs of his smart glasses.
I was unsettled. For a moment, I had the feeling of encountering an urban creature like a rat or raccoon, and I didn’t know how to behave.
“Act natural,” I told myself. He wasn’t recording me (I’m pretty certain), but I knew that he could be.
Smart glasses and privacy problems
Much of the general public still doesn’t know anything about smart glasses, and that’s a major problem.
Some smart glasses wearers are exploiting the ignorance by harassing strangers and filming their reactions. Many of their victims are homeless people, service workers and women.
These glasses aren’t a niche product, either. Meta sold 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025. For a relatively low price (they start at $300), “manfluencers” and other content creators can buy a pair of Meta Ray-Bans and use them to record unwitting subjects.
Smart glasses can be used to surveil people who participate in protests or secretly record people in restrooms and other public places. The privacy problem will only get worse if companies add facial recognition features to their smart glasses — and Meta is reportedly planning to do just that.
It may not always be possible to stop someone from filming you in public without your consent. But you can make it harder for this new generation of “glassholes” to film you in secret. The first step is knowing how to identify the technology.
What do smart glasses look like?
Not all smart glasses look alike, and not all models have cameras. The vast majority of camera glasses currently available are produced by Meta.
The easiest way to identify a pair is by locating the indicator light — a small LED bulb that turns on when the wearer is taking a picture or video.
CNET’s Vanessa Hand Orellana wearing the Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses. The camera sits above her nose, and the LED light is just above the camera.
In addition to the indicator LED is an audio cue: A shutter snap sound can be heard when a picture is taken. However, both of these cues are relatively subtle.
Even if you’re aware of smart glasses indicators, you might not know for sure if you’re being filmed. Outside in direct sunlight, it’s virtually impossible to detect when the recording light is on.
Smart glasses owners can also cover up the LED with a sticker or modify the frame to disable the light altogether (though they aren’t supposed to do this). And Amazon sells some pairs of glasses with a pinhole camera, which seem tailor-made for creeps to record people in secret.
The smart glasses future is already here
Smart glasses are a relatively new technology with plenty of potential. They can be useful for visually impaired people. They allow artists, woodworkers, chefs and other creators to capture footage while their hands are occupied.
But they can also be dangerous.
Unfortunately, few current laws regulate smart glasses and deter abusers. But as the devices become more common, social norms will develop and guide their usage, just as social norms developed for recording with phones.
By being able to recognize smart glasses in public, you’re reducing the chances for pranksters and bad actors to exploit you. You’re helping to shape this emergent technology, to define what it can — and can’t — do.
