Articles

Reporting and analysis on recording, recognition, consent, Bluetooth awareness and the shared-space questions raised by wearable technology.

  1. Market response

    The Market Priced In What the Law Has Not

    3 min read

    Wall Street reacted to the "pervert glasses" label faster than regulators did, exposing the gap between market pressure and formal oversight.

    A man stands over a woman lying on a bench in a dark, glass-walled gym at night.

  2. Accessibility

    The Light Was Only Ever Notice for People Who Could See It

    2 min read

    Every proposal in this debate treats a visible cue as the baseline protection. That baseline already excluded a portion of the public before smart glasses existed.

    A woman holding a white cane walks along a city sidewalk while another woman passes beside her and a worker stands behind construction barriers.

  3. Schools

    When the Person Filming You Sits Next to You Tomorrow

    3 min read

    Advice for people recorded in public often concerns a stranger who will not be encountered again. In a school, the person holding the camera may be in the next class.

    A student with a backpack looks back in a school hallway while three classmates stand nearby, including one wearing camera-enabled glasses and another holding a phone.

  4. Practical guide

    How to Tell if Someone's Smart Glasses Are Recording You

    3 min read

    The honest answer is that certainty is often unavailable. This guide explains what the indicator light does and does not prove, and what a Bluetooth scan can actually indicate.

    Two women sit in a public indoor space, with one wearing glasses, illustrating uncertainty about whether smart glasses are recording.

  5. Smart glasses and privacy

    How Smart-Glasses Privacy Changed From Recording to Recognition

    2 min read

    A smart-glasses camera can feed public-face search during an encounter, while the person in view may see only ordinary frames.

    Smart-glasses wearer in a quiet café with an unaware bystander reflected in one lens, illustrating privacy risks beyond recording.

  6. Bystander notice

    Can a Tiny Recording Light Give Bystanders Meaningful Notice?

    2 min read

    A recording indicator can warn that a camera is active, but it cannot explain what happens to the footage or what choices a bystander has.

    Smart-glasses wearer in a crowded indoor gathering surrounded by bystanders, illustrating the challenge of meaningful recording notice.

  7. Face recognition

    I-XRAY and the Moment Smart Glasses Met Face Recognition

    2 min read

    I-XRAY showed how smart glasses could be linked to public-face search, turning an ordinary encounter into an identification event.

    Woman wearing smart glasses seated beside another person in a gymnasium, illustrating questions about face recognition in everyday public spaces.

  8. Ambient audio

    Halo X and the Cost of Always-On Listening

    2 min read

    Halo X shows how an audio wearable can help its wearer while drawing nearby conversations into an uncertain recording space.

    Two people speaking in a café while a woman wearing smart glasses listens, illustrating privacy questions around always-on audio.

  9. Human review and privacy

    The Human Review in Kenya's Smart-Glasses Investigation

    2 min read

    Reports of annotators in Nairobi reviewing smart-glasses footage show how far a private moment can travel after capture.

    Woman reviewing smart-glasses footage at a workstation with camera glasses on the desk, illustrating human review and privacy risks.

  10. Product direction

    What Meta's Name Tag Discussion Says About Facial Recognition

    2 min read

    Meta's reported Name Tag work shows why public rules should precede routine facial recognition in glasses.

    Smart-glasses wearer observing another person in a library, illustrating privacy questions around facial recognition and Name Tag features.

  11. Civil liberties

    Your Glasses Should Not Know My Name

    2 min read

    The ACLU's response to wearable facial recognition draws a clear boundary. People should not be silently identified in everyday life.

    Two people standing near an apartment entrance, one carrying a green bag and the other wearing glasses, illustrating everyday privacy boundaries.

  12. Market context

    Smart Glasses Are Scaling. Privacy Needs to Scale Too.

    2 min read

    Shipment and sales figures show why bystander privacy needs attention while smart glasses are becoming ordinary.

    Woman examining smart glasses at an eyewear display, with other shoppers visible in the background, illustrating the normalization of wearable technology.