Meta's smart glasses are being used to film people in bathrooms, courts, and doctor's offices. A new app just released on the App Store is the perfect example of safeguards should be implemented when Apple launches its smart glasses.
The Apple Vision Pro isn't exactly stealthy. Meta's Ray-Bans are, and are being used mainly to violate other people's privacy.
I've already talked at-length about the issue with smart glasses. Especially if they're glasses designed to be relatively unclockable at a distance.
As it turns out, people take issue with these stealthy, live-stream capable devices. There are many ways people are pushing back, with petitions, write-in campaigns, and, in the case of one hobbyist coder, coding.
Yves Jeanrenaud has created an app that identifies nearby smart glasses and pings your device to let you know that there are some in the area.
"I consider it to be a tiny part of resistance against surveillance tech," Jeanrenaud told 404 Media.
The app, called "Nearby Glasses," does so by identifying "advertising frames." These are small beacons that Bluetooth devices broadcast as part of their normal operation.
The app launched as an exclusive to Android devices. If you happen to have an Android device, you can grab the app from the Google Play store or GitHub.
On March 25, Nearby Glasses was released on the Apple App Store.
It'll occasionally return false positives, most notably when near a VR headset. As 404 Media points out, if you're walking around in public, it's less likely that someone will be wearing a VR headset like the aforementioned Apple Vision Pro.
And, you can see that headset just the same as you can somebody holding up an iPhone to take a picture or stream.
A brief reminder of what people are using smart glasses for
As I mentioned above, I've already talked about smart glasses here. However, if you missed it, or if you live under a rock — luck you — I'll fill you in on why this is a big deal.
Meta's Ray-Ban Display is designed to look like a pair of normal glasses. Ugly glasses, yes, but normal glasses just the same.
After-market modding of smart glasses removes LED filming indication lights
Most people probably wouldn't be able to immediately recognize that the glasses are, in fact, a camera. Especially at a distance, when again, they just look like a really chunky pair of glasses.
And its fan base knows this. That's why there's an ongoing trend of owners wearing them into massage parlors and harassing the staff. It's made all the worse when the bespectacled patron is, in fact, streaming live on Instagram to thousands of people.
But it's not just massage parlors that are seeing increased issues with smart glasses. People who buy them tend to wear them everywhere — the bedroom, the doctor's office, hospitals, and yes, the public bathroom. Let that one sink in for a moment.
Both ICE and border patrol agents have worn Meta's AI-enabled glasses at protests and immigration raids. So have the protestors.
Hell, even Mark Zuckerberg recently wore his pair into a courtroom where his company was standing trial. Judge Carolyn Kuhl highlighted an immediate concern of hers — the glasses, which could be used in conjunction with facial recognition software — could be used to identify jurors.
She immediately promised penalties for wearers in the courtroom going forward.
It doesn't really matter what smart glasses are supposed to be for. Usage dictates purpose, and for a notable portion of Meta glasses owners, the whole purpose is using the cameras to harass or otherwise harm others.
What Apple should do, but probably won't
Apple didn't beat anyone to the market with AI. The company is also relatively late to the game on releasing smart glasses.
In the past, Apple fans have always said, "Apple doesn't need to be first to the market, it might show up late, but it'll show up late with a better product."
And, in the past, that may have been true. Unfortunately, in the hyper-volatile tech market, Apple doesn't have the luxury of waiting — the Apple Intelligence debacle has proven that time and time again.
Because Apple is so late to the smart glasses market, there's already an expectation of what these devices are to be used for. Meta has proven that its glasses are used to harass people fairly often.
Unfortunately, there's a non-negligible amount of people buying the devices for that purpose.
Meta and Snap Inc have defined what smart glasses are to be used for: filming. Customers expect not only filming capabilities, but the ability to livestream while on the go.
Sure, some smart glasses might have an arguably useful display in them that could show you directions or useful information about what you're looking at. That's a nice feature, but that's not why most people are buying them.
Most people are buying them because they integrate with social media platforms. They're cameras, first and foremost.
And because of that, it puts Apple in a bit of a bind. Should the company bend to the whims of the market, which has shown itself to be increasingly influenced by nefarious actors, or should it uphold its privacy-first, safety-forward models?
"Apple Glass" concept
If Apple wanted to make the ethical move, it would include glasses that couldn't be used for filming or snapping photos. Instead, the camera would help power other features, like walking directions and object identification.
But if Apple wants to do well in the market, it would likely need to allow its glasses the ability to, at the very least, take pictures and record video. If it doesn't, it risks releasing a product that both fans and detractors alike deem a complete failure.
As always, I don't have an answer to the problem. This smart glass detecting app is a good start, though.
We're at a point where surveillance technology, be it smart glasses or doorbell cams, isn't going away. To make matters worse, no one seems to be particularly keen on passing regulations surrounding it.
Welcome to the future, dear reader. Is it as great as you'd hope it would be?
Updated March 25, 8:57 p.m.: the app is now available on the Apple App Store (link)
