this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2026
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Privacy

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Yesterday I saw someone with Meta smart glasses in public for the first time. Even just standing near him was unpleasant. It doesn't matter whether it's recording, pointing a camera and mics at somebody who didn't agree to it feels rude and a bit shocking.

I worry that this is becoming more acceptable or do others feel the same way? Companies keep pushing forward, now with smart neckleses, smart headphones, (all equipped with camera and mic). Are these all doomed to fail? What feature would convince me or others to actually start using them? It's certainly not chatgpt strapped on your face, or a shitty quality spy camera either.

If any of my friends or family wore these, I wouldn't feel comfortable speaking to them.

Im interested in your experiences. Thanks for reading.

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[–] Kirk@startrek.website 46 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

I recently asked a friend to remove their meta glasses while we were out to eat. It was awkward for a moment but they were understanding, and we had a good talk about privacy and tech after.

[–] PagPag@lemmy.world 27 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

If any of my friends showed up with facebook glasses, they would be ridiculed to the point of them either getting rid of them or us no longer being friends.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 14 points 2 weeks ago

I'm not here for your entertainment, or whatever you're going to use that footage for. That's your deal, not mine. Take them off, or not coming in the house.

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[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Only an absolute tool would wear that crap.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

Let me introduce you to my friend who thinks Fucker Carlson has good ideas, and that Musky is Iron man.

His glasses arrive tomorrow.

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[–] Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world 42 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

There should be a law brought in so that any glasses fitted with cameras/microphones have to be clearly labeled (as in etched so it cant be removed) with a warning along the front face of the glasses and also make it to they can only be bright obnoxious high visibility colours like neon green/orange.

Lets see how "fashionable" they are when they make you look like a member of LMFAO.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

The meta glasses supposedly are designed with a bright led on the front that comes on when the camera or microphone is recording.

Edit: I had forgotten when I wrote this that there are companies already offering services where you can send in your meta glasses and they claim they will somehow disable/bypass the LED indicator.

[–] Coleslaw4145@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

Yeah and people put little pieces of black tape over it that blends in with the black sunglasses and render that LED meaningless.

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[–] TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website 35 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)
[–] Jokulhlaups@lemmy.world 17 points 2 weeks ago

Glasshole indeed!

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 10 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

This is the next logical iteration of "if you aren't doing anything wrong then you have no reason to be concerned with people filming you without your knowledge/consent!"

It was never a good argument, but too many people seemed to believe it and now we're here...

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What an absolute Stacy, massive respect

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[–] 73ms@sopuli.xyz 17 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Having seen what people now accept I would not want to bet that these will fail. Never thought people would be OK with Google using their phone to record their exact location 24/7 and save a searchable history of it for example but it seems that never was even controversial. Same with phones and other dedicated little devices that are always listening...

[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 14 points 2 weeks ago

I mean I get it. Weird to have a private company walking monitoring device that proudly does so so they can... Upload more to social media? It just sorta marks you as a hyper user and in the past we would have doubted those types even came outside.
Like I would pair it with the people who have only clothes and decorated with souvenir items from some random brand. It IS a weird look.

But unfortunately Flock exists and they are everywhere, spun up in seconds with cameras just running light and are even easily hacked. So like privacy wise its less a concern but personally.. Definitely not a fan and I get uncomfortable around them. I don't want to be used for content or actively sold by you just for being near.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 weeks ago

Don't worry, he's just making videos to jerk off to later.

[–] transscribe9468@literature.cafe 9 points 2 weeks ago

met up with a family member once who was wearing them and i immediately put on a face mask.

[–] RedGreenBlue@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The law should be that the recording can only be used in private, by the owner of the device, not a company. If anyone shares the imagery or steals it, they should be subject to some kind of day-fine.

That would be nice.

[–] SippyCup@lemmy.ml 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

That presumes the law works for you.

The police state loves that they can just buy the data the big tech companies are happily farming. No warrants, no judges, no pesky civil rights to get in the way. Just full time monitoring.

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[–] ZiggyTheZygote@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I would get a very powerful magnet and ruin their devices. That works right? Otherwise I'll get a device that scrambles smart devices. Fuck Zuckerberg.

[–] badlotus@discuss.online 9 points 2 weeks ago

Magnets have no effect on flash memory or storage.

[–] Cherry@piefed.social 5 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Does it? Would be keen to know about this. Gonna have to keep some in my bag 🤣

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

If you hit the glasses hard enough it will to the job as good as a hammer… failing that it takes a tad too much power for a « magnet » to affect electronics at a distance.

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[–] Libb@piefed.social 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I would not stay nearby.

Imho this 'trend' will end:

  • the day enough of the wearers start getting punched in the face. Not that I encourage anyone to do that, I don't, but seeing how... angry and and willing to fight so many people already are, I can't imagine it won't happen more and more as those stupid glasses become more common.
  • If enough people start shaming them/their behavior, and it becomes a hurdle to wear those in public.

Otherwise, it will probably become as 'normal' as messaging people sitting right next to you instead of, you know, talking to them.

[–] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Are there any glasses that block smart glasses available? Like a localized jammer, or like shining an IR light at a camera, sort of thing?

[–] kibiz0r@midwest.social 11 points 2 weeks ago

One project that can help with this is the OUI-SPY, a small piece of open source hardware. The OUI-SPY runs on a cheap Arduino compatible chip called an ESP-32. There are multiple programs available for loading on the chip, such as “Flock You,” which allows people to detect Flock cameras and “Sky-Spy” to detect overhead drones. There’s also “BLE Detect,” which detects various Bluetooth signals including ones from Axon, Meta’s Ray-Bans that secretly record you, and more. It also has a mode commonly known as “fox hunting” to track down a specific device.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/01/how-hackers-are-fighting-back-against-ice

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm usually against punching people in the face from behind then running away...

[–] krashmo@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

From behind? How many elbows do you have?

[–] ijustliketrains@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My first time seeing anything about the meta Rayban glasses was some guy sexually harassing my friend at work as a “prank video.” He used the glasses as a secret recording device then posted it on facebook.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I remember back in the 80s,.and SONY Walkman cassette players became a thing. I worked in a record store, and I was an early adopter, although I had to go with a knock-off because I couldn't afford the SONY at $3.35 /hour minimum wage.

I loved being able to listen to music while I was driving (way better sounding than whatever shitty radio I had in my shitty car), park, get out, walk across the parking lot, through the mall, and to my store (or wherever), without stopping the music.

I quickly realized that as I walked through the mall, I would get really dirty looks from people, especially older ones. They really took offense at me minding my own business and listening to music. I'm sure they would have been more offended if I was just walking around with a boombox blasting on my shoulder, like the style in some places at the time.

I don't know why they would care about me listening to music, or why they would think they have any right to let me know their opinion (through their visual cues), and mostly why I'd care what they'd think. I didn't care what they thought about it, and I was offended that they presumed that I should care what they think.

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