{"id":7702,"date":"2026-06-30T09:10:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/?p=7702"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T19:09:26","slug":"smart-glasses-societys-ally-or-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/scitech\/2026\/06\/30\/smart-glasses-societys-ally-or-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"Smart Glasses: Society\u2019s Ally or Enemy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people have heard of smart glasses, but how many know what they actually do?<\/span><\/p>\n

When someone films with a phone, it\u2019s usually obvious because they have to hold it up and point it at you. Smart glasses are different. Their cameras are hidden in what appears to be a regular pair of glasses. Someone could talk to you and record at the same time, and you might not notice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine you are walking down the street, and someone stops you to ask a question. You answer, move on, and forget about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, you come across a video of yourself online. It has thousands of views. Strangers are forming opinions about you based on this footage, and you had no idea you were being filmed.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is what makes smart glasses concerning. However, the issue isn\u2019t just the camera itself. Many smart glasses have a small LED light to show when they\u2019re filming. However, some users have already figured out how to turn off or hide these lights. If the warning light is hidden, no one can be sure if they\u2019re being recorded.<\/span><\/p>\n

The technology itself isn\u2019t inherently bad, and smart glasses can be helpful. Some smart glasses can read text out loud or describe what is in front of the wearer. For example, Be My Eyes works with Ray-Ban Meta glasses, letting users talk to a volunteer who can see through the glasses and guide them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is what happens when a device that is designed to help people is instead used to invade someone else\u2019s privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reports found that workers at Meta\u2019s subcontractor, Sama, in Kenya reviewed videos and audio from Meta\u2019s smart glasses to improve the technology. Some of this material included private moments where people didn\u2019t know they were being recorded, and in some instances, faces weren\u2019t blurred.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is worrying because the footage doesn\u2019t just disappear; it can become company data, even if the people recorded never agreed to it. Meta later said it stopped working with Sama, but there are still concerns about how data from these glasses are handled.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is an area where regulation hasn\u2019t kept up. New technology often arrives before we\u2019ve asked enough questions about how it could be misused. The UK\u2019s Information Commissioner\u2019s Office says that devices handling personal data should clearly explain how people\u2019s information is collected and used. People shouldn\u2019t have to guess whether they\u2019re being videoed or worry about where that footage might end up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people are targets of online harassment and stalking. For them, the idea of being recorded by someone wearing smart glasses is not just a distant concern; it is a threat to personal safety. However, worries about how these devices might be misused often receive less attention than the focus on new technology. This means that those most at risk are too often left out of the conversation before products are released. In theory, technology should improve people\u2019s lives. Companies and regulators need to take action to prioritise everyone\u2019s safety by establishing guidelines for the handling of footage from smart glasses. Only by doing so can we ensure that no one is left unprotected as technology advances.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most people have heard of smart glasses, but how many know what they actually do? When someone films with a phone, it\u2019s usually obvious because they have to hold it up and point it at you. Smart glasses are different. Their cameras are hidden in what appears to be a regular pair of glasses. Someone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":7116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[327,962,1934,582],"wf_post_folders":[180],"class_list":{"0":"post-7702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scitech","8":"tag-ethics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-smart-glasses","11":"tag-technology"},"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Crystal Atsegoh","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/crystal\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/yamu_jay-ai-generated-9106907_1280-300x173.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Science & Environment<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Science & Environment<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Ethics<\/a>","science<\/a>","smart glasses<\/a>","Technology<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Ethics<\/span>","science<\/span>","smart glasses<\/span>","Technology<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 months ago","modified":"Updated 2 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 30 June 2026","modified":"Updated on 29 June 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 30 June 2026 09:10","modified":"Updated on 29 June 2026 20:09"},"featured_img_caption":"Image by yamu_jay on pixabay.com","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7703,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7702\/revisions\/7703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7702"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=7702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}