It's early days for smart glasses, but they're already causing big problems. 

Last month, a woman in London was approached by a man wearing smart glasses, who recorded their interaction without her knowledge. The video was uploaded to social media without her consent -- it got 40,000 views, and the man refused to take it down unless she paid him.

This is just the latest in a series of events that highlight the privacy concerns of smart glasses like Meta Ray-Bans. These look like a chunkier pair of normal black Ray-Ban Wayfarers, and the average person probably wouldn't suspect that their frames contain a hidden camera.

When I told my friend about them, she was disgusted. "Ew," she said. "Why do those exist?"

I've never owned a pair of smart glasses, but I saw them in the wild twice last year. Once was when I was riding the New York subway and noticed a person sitting across from me wearing the frames.

The other time was when I struck up a conversation with a guy at a bar. It took a minute in the dimly lit room, but then I recognized the telltale signs of his smart glasses.

I was unsettled. For a moment, I felt as if I were encountering an urban creature, like a rat or raccoon, and I didn't know how to behave.

"Act natural," I told myself. He wasn't recording me (I'm pretty certain), but I knew that he could be.

Smart glasses and privacy problems

Much of the general public still doesn't know anything about smart glasses, and that's a major problem.

Some smart glasses wearers are exploiting the ignorance by harassing strangers and filming their reactions. Many of their victims are homeless people, service workers and women.

These glasses aren't a niche product, either. Meta sold 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025. For a relatively low price (they start at $300), "manfluencers" and other content creators can buy a pair of Meta Ray-Bans and use them to record unwitting subjects. 

Smart glasses can be used to surveil people participating in protests or secretly record people in restrooms and other public places. The privacy problem will only get worse if companies add facial recognition features to their smart glasses -- and Meta is reportedly planning to do just that.

It may not always be possible to stop someone from filming you in public without your consent. But you can make it harder for this new generation of "glassholes" to film you in secret. The first step is knowing how to identify the technology.

What do smart glasses look like?

Not all smart glasses look alike, and not all models have cameras. The vast majority of camera glasses currently available are produced by Meta.

The easiest way to identify a pair is by locating the indicator light -- a small LED bulb that turns on when the wearer is taking a picture or video.

According to CNET editor and wearable tech expert Scott Stein, "Each pair of smart glasses has its own type of indicator. And many smart glasses do different things. We don't have a clear mental map of what to look for. That's a big part of the problem."

Meta Ray-Bans have been around since 2021. (They launched under the name Ray-Ban Stories.) A slimmer second-generation model was introduced in 2023.

The latest iteration includes a small screen built into one of the lenses, though from most angles, this feature is only visible to the wearer.

All Meta Ray-Ban models have relatively thick plastic frames with a camera lens in the upper left corner (or the upper right if you're facing the wearer). On the opposite corner is the LED light, which automatically turns on when the wearer is filming. It lights up when a photo is taken and pulses during video recording.

To take a photo or record a video, the user presses the capture button on the right arm of the glasses (near the LED light). The user can also use voice commands: "Hey Meta, take a photo" or "Hey Meta, take a video." 

Meta also produces glasses in partnership with Oakley. The HSTN model looks like a rounded version of the Ray-Ban frames, with the camera and LED in the same location. But the Vanguard model looks more like wraparound goggles than glasses, and its camera and LED are found in the center of the nose bridge.

In addition to the indicator LED, you might get an audio cue: a shutter snap sound when a picture is taken. However, both of these cues are relatively subtle.

Even if you're aware of smart glasses indicators, you might not know for sure if you're being filmed. Outside in direct sunlight, it's virtually impossible to detect when the recording light is on.

Smart glasses owners can also cover up the LED with a sticker or modify the frame to disable the light altogether (though they aren't supposed to do this). And Amazon sells some pairs of glasses with a pinhole camera, which seem tailor-made for creeps to secretly record people. 

The smart glasses future is already here

Smart glasses are a relatively new technology with plenty of potential. They can be useful for visually impaired people. They allow artists, woodworkers, chefs and other creators to capture footage while their hands are occupied.

But they can also be dangerous. 

Unfortunately, few current laws regulate smart glasses and deter abusers. But as devices become more common, social norms will develop and guide their use, just as social norms developed for phone recording.

By being able to recognize smart glasses in public, you're reducing the chances that pranksters and bad actors will exploit you. You're helping to shape this emergent technology, to define what it can -- and can't -- do.