August 10, 2026
Specs and the City
'Pervert glasses': Backlash against Meta's smart glasses grows
Now shoppers fear every flirt, gym trip, and night out could be secretly filmed
TLDR: Meta’s smart glasses are facing backlash after people used them to secretly record strangers and post the videos online, turning a flashy gadget into a privacy scare. In the comments, some blame creepy users, while others say the bigger problem is that nobody trusts tech companies anymore.
Meta’s smart glasses were supposed to be the next cool gadget: stylish frames that can snap video, play music, take calls, and answer questions. Instead, the internet has slapped them with a brutal nickname: “pervert glasses.” The panic really took off after women discovered they’d been filmed during awkward pickup attempts and then posted online without knowing it. One woman in Arizona said she only learned later that a stranger’s cheesy line had become content. Suddenly, the vibes around these glasses went from futuristic to deeply creepy.
And the comments? Absolute chaos. Some people were furious that a product disguised as normal eyewear could turn everyday life into a secret recording set. One commenter basically summed up the heartbreak of modern gadgets: we finally got the sci-fi future, but every shiny toy comes with a cursed catch. Others said the real dream is obvious now: give us smart glasses with a display, but no camera at all. Trust, not features, is the issue.
But not everyone agreed with the pile-on. One voice pushed back, saying it’s weird to instantly assume people will use new tech for pervy behavior, and even sadder that everyone now greets innovation with dread. That sparked the biggest split in the mood: are the glasses the problem, or the people wearing them? Meanwhile, the jokes kept flying, from Jimmy Kimmel’s “pervert glasses” jab to the general sense that Meta has somehow turned cyberpunk into a dating-app horror story. Meta has updated the glasses so tampered cameras stop working, but online, the damage to the vibe may already be done.
Key Points
- •Meta’s smart glasses are facing privacy backlash because some users have recorded people without their knowledge and posted the videos online.
- •The glasses include features such as photo and video capture, music playback, phone calls, and an AI assistant, and Meta currently leads the smart glasses market.
- •IDC data cited in the article says Meta held about 69% of the smart glasses market in the first quarter, while the value of certain smart glasses segments more than tripled year over year.
- •Meta’s glasses have a flashing white recording indicator, but some users have reportedly tried to hide or disable it by modifying the frames.
- •Meta updated the glasses so the cameras are disabled if the device has been tampered with, as criticism spread across social media and into mainstream entertainment.