Eyes wide open: How to mitigate the security and privacy risks of smart glasses
Eyes wide open: How to mitigate the security and privacy risks of smart glasses
Publish Date: 2026-05-11 05:11:00
Source Domain: www.welivesecurity.com
Smart glasses allow anyone to track and record the world around them. That could put your data and the privacy of those nearby at risk.
11 May 2026
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5 min. read
Fashion and many other trends have a way of reappearing every few years. So we probably shouldn’t be surprised that smart glasses are doing the rounds once more, after a failed attempt by Google to popularize them over a decade ago. The difference this time round is that they’re not just more stylish – and arguably harder to tell from regular shades. They’re also packed with far more powerful technology, capable of tracking and recording their surroundings, and allowing the user to ask AI about the things they can see around them.
This presents significant security and privacy risks for both smart glasses users and the people they interact with.
What are the privacy risks?
Anyone who’s ever lived in a city will be used to being monitored. Germany and the UK have among the highest number of CCTV cameras in the world. But when that monitoring is targeted and not based around informed consent, it can quickly get out of hand. Smart glasses give anyone the ability to record or take photos of strangers surreptitiously. Although they feature a small LED light, this can be covered up, and in any case may be difficult for bystanders to spot.
But that’s not all. Harvard University researchers have demonstrated how video taken via smart glasses and livestreamed to Instagram can be connected to AI. Algorithms then work to identify faces and then pull information from the internet on those individuals. Suddenly that cool accessory becomes a powerful, portable surveillance device capable of empowering stalkers, bullies and fraudsters.
The bad news is that Meta may be looking to streamline the process with a controversial Name Tag feature. The social media giant has also come under scrutiny from regulators…
