Opinion: Meta Glasses Privacy Risks Don’t End When Recording Stops

ExpressVPN’s chief research officer has warned privacy risks with Meta AI glasses and alternatives such as Kmart’s don’t end when the recording stops

Australia’s risk is higher given cheaper alternatives (like the Kmart Camera Glasses) are selling like hotcakes and current laws don’t prevent recording people in public.

“The scary thing about these glasses isn't just the camera, it’s what that camera could enable in the wrong hands. Someone could use them to secretly film someone up close without consent, record someone they're stalking, or capture a vulnerable person without their knowledge. With cheaper alternatives already available and selling out in Australia, the risk is arguably more pronounced there, and current laws don’t prevent recording people in public."

Dr Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer, ExpressVPN

“The risk doesn’t necessarily end when the recording stops. Once an image exists, other tools can potentially analyse it, identify people, work out where they are or connect it with information about them. We’re entering a world where the difference between a person looking at you and a computer observing you is starting to disappear – and if you’re the one being filmed, you didn’t buy the device, set it up or agree to any of it."

“You shouldn’t have to assume every pair of glasses in the room is filming you. But that's the world these devices are quietly building."

"Privacy needs to be designed into this technology from the start, not left for the people caught on camera to worry about afterwards.”

Dr Pete Membrey, Chief Research Officer, ExpressVPN