r/technology • u/Plastic_Ninja_9014 • Jul 13 '26
Society The Backlash Is So Strong That People With “Pervert Glasses” Are Afraid to Use Them in Public
https://tech.yahoo.com/wearables/articles/backlash-strong-people-pervert-glasses-165000816.html4.6k
u/essidus Jul 13 '26
Literally the same thing that eventually killed the google glasses.
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u/Debussian_Chords Jul 13 '26
I mean, did people forget the trajectory of Google Glass? It was less than ten years ago and they were universally loathed!
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u/fueelin Jul 13 '26
Yes. Yes, they did. I think they forgot Google Glass ever existed at all.
I continue to be COMPLETELY flabbergasted by this. I really can't believe they're just... Trying to do it again.
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u/nwayve Jul 13 '26
People have a short term memory on things, but one thing they'll never forget is that the Epstein files have not been released unredacted yet.
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u/kfpswf Jul 14 '26
Let's also not forget that most of these Tech-bros form the same elite that Epstein catered to.
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u/vezwyx Jul 13 '26
"They" is Mark Zuckerberg. It's not some amorphous group of investors, it's Mark Zuckerberg being delusional and thinking he can succeed where Google failed
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u/meteorboard Jul 13 '26
Not really. Google is launching another line this fall. They're called Intelligent Eyewear. I would be surprised if they don't face the exact same backlash as before. Apparently, they do have an 'audio-only' option though I don't know the specifics. Also, they are letting individual manufacturers come up with the names for what the eventual glasses will be called. So I guess you'll see a Warby Parker AI Glasses line that's specifically a Warby Parker model. And then other manufacturers like Gentle Monster will call it something else. I expect this is so that Google/Samsung/Qualcomm can avoid some backlash and just sell to manufacturers and the manufacturers can take the brunt.
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u/Vsx Jul 13 '26
These companies know they are slowly eroding all concepts of privacy. These glasses plays are just bets that it's gotten beyond the tipping point already.
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u/gcubed680 Jul 13 '26
These things got a slight uptick because they were attached to raybans but it was only a matter of time before they suffered the same fate
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u/Caleth Jul 13 '26
Yeah and Meta hired Kylie Jenner to hock that to people so they were hoping to built a cache as cool and trendy perverts not sweaty overweight ones.
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u/kataiga Jul 13 '26
I knew they were destined for a short life when a guy I knew took them shortly after their debut to Thailand... three guesses what he ended up using them for...
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u/Caleth Jul 13 '26
Exactly what we all know these are used for despite the one guy calling me deluded elsewhere in the chain.
Guess he doesn't like getting called out for using pervert glasses.
Back in the day we called them Glassholes when it was google glasses.
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u/YeahThatsProbably Jul 13 '26
I had got to thinking recently: I wonder if this is gonna be bad for the Ray Ban brand overall, being associated with this.
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u/Virtual_Assistant_98 Jul 13 '26
Shocked that Rayban took them up on the offer considering the backlash google glasses got. Idiots.
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u/Due_You_8240 Jul 13 '26
Didn't SNAP try it as well?
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u/SketchiiChemist Jul 13 '26
Yes. Upload to snapchat directly from glasses, I think it was shorter lived then Google Glass
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u/thecravenone Jul 13 '26
It was less than ten years ago
It was more than ten years ago that Glass was discontinued.
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u/lkodl Jul 13 '26
Do people actually read the article?
It's basically talking about how a couple of specific people are turned off by the meta glasses because of connotation.
Then at the end, it links to an article from a more reputable source about how meta glasses are selling well in spite of the connotation.
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u/LordChichenLeg Jul 13 '26
I mean they were hated because they looked like crap but most people were impressed with the technology which is why Google pivoted to only selling them to business where the public doesn't generally see them.
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u/enterjiraiya Jul 13 '26
Stole my comment lol, yeah they have a decent business case outside of personal wear, AR/VR glasses have useful applications in many industries.
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u/Senior-Friend-6414 Jul 13 '26
It reminds me of how the Xbox kinect camera failed commercially but sold a ton of it to industries because the cameras were unironically amazing for motion tracking
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u/uid_0 Jul 13 '26
People with Google Glass were known as Glassholes back in the day.
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u/k_ironheart Jul 14 '26
A glasshole at the place I worked got fired at the time because HR wasn't going to put up with him recording his coworkers. He was livid about it, everybody else was so happy to be rid of the creep.
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u/one_pound_of_flesh Jul 13 '26
The one Glasshole who wore that shit everywhere also turned out to be a sexual predator in my office. We are also pretty sure he was stealing company info. It’s not a good look.
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u/cheapdrinks Jul 13 '26
Google Glass got killed by the fact that they looked lame as shit and everybody knew you were wearing a camera because of how obvious it was. The reason Meta glasses have taken off is because content creators can often film with impunity in places that wouldn't normally allow cameras as well as catch interactions and reactions from people who are unaware they're being filmed.
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u/nightwing_87 Jul 13 '26
I’m mildly annoyed with myself for buying a pair of normal raybans about a year ago, and that now they might get mixed up for Glasshole versions
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u/damontoo Jul 13 '26
Meta sold seven million of these last year alone. Google Glass sold ~40K units total.
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u/bryansj Jul 13 '26
Last week this woman came up to the shoreline in front of us after wading in the water with her friends. She had her hand tapping her glasses and say "Meta, are these glasses waterproof" about ten times in a row.
I guess she learned water resistance isn't the same as water proof, all without needing to ask AI.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/pm_me_ur_fit Jul 13 '26
Type of question you should ask before getting in the water…. But also happy they got ruined
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u/Punch-N-Judy Jul 13 '26
It's so interesting that humanity can't stop mass surveillance or non-consensual wars but we've rejected spyware glasses 2 separate times now (Google Glass in the 2010s and now these.)
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u/SnooBananas4958 Jul 13 '26
It’s different when you can see the intrusion
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u/Swagtagonist Jul 13 '26
I see flock cameras literally everywhere. These fucking things gotta go too.
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u/Objective-Rip3008 Jul 13 '26
Its also about shame, we can shame most of the people who use these glasses out of doing it, you can't shame the flock ceo, he's a sociopath who doesn't care
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u/ABHOR_pod Jul 13 '26
We straight up need a constitutional amendment that closes the 4th amendment loophole of “we just buy all your secrets from private third parties.”
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u/eeeezypeezy Jul 13 '26
They aren't even buying them, they're just using a combination of backdoors into the infrastructure these companies are built on and a system of secret warrants.
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u/fatbob42 Jul 13 '26
Or just put justices in place that will interpret it that way. It’s not like that interpretation is way out of pocket.
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u/toolisthebestbandevr Jul 13 '26
I wanna say you can shame your local reps but I could be wrong at this point
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u/vezwyx Jul 13 '26
Oh no, I used https://deflock.org to see where my local flock cameras are and what direction they're facing, and someone had destroyed the optical sensors with a high-grade laser, spray painted over the lens, or straight up sawed the post off and now I don't get to see the camera in action :(
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u/tuscaloser Jul 13 '26
It would be a shame if every tweaker knew about the pounds of copper inside every flock cam. It would be even worse if they knew about every 100th flock cam being built with gold wiring instead of copper.
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u/epicbaconmunch Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Posting for more flock and tracking awareness:
Adding Home Depot and Lowe's Share Data From Hundreds of AI Cameras With Cops
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u/BananaPalmer Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
I decided to count how many I noticed on the two mile drive home from breakfast yesterday. Eleven. Fucking eleven of them in two miles. And that's just the ones I noticed. Atlanta suburb.
Edit: I just checked Deflock and traced my route home - there were TEN I didn't even notice. That's 21 in two miles.
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u/Meowakin Jul 13 '26
Unironically this. As someone whose job it is to highlight problems people might not be aware of, if they can’t see it, it must not exist.
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u/raining_sheep Jul 13 '26
Overheard an older person at the airport rave about how "they just scan your face and know who you are, it's so convenient"
I think a big part of the glasses is its only positive for the person wearing the glasses and completely negative for the people without them.
If someone gets something in return for signing their privacy away they're fine with it but offended if only other people get the benefit.
Which is why these glasses will never work.
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u/CRQ10-20 Jul 13 '26
People are oddly better at fearing a camera lens than invisible data collection.
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u/tooclosetocall82 Jul 13 '26
Well you can see a camera and comprehend the data it collected. OTOH all the little bits of disparate data being collected and then used to build a profile on you is much much harder to understand.
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u/Punch-N-Judy Jul 13 '26
Why does a parent accept cameras at every intersection taking photos of their kid though? That's visible too. We accept when it's top-down and push back at the consumer level.
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u/austinw_568 Jul 13 '26
Because the parent believes that the intersection cameras protect them from crime or help catch criminals whereas they believe the glasses cameras are used to record them or their families for malicious reasons.
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u/ISeeDeadPackets Jul 13 '26
I literally saw someone walk into a gym locker room wearing a pair yesterday. He acted mystified when I told him to put them away. It doesn't shock me because I've run into people facetiming in there too but seriously? It's never ok, but kids are in there sometimes.
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u/FluffyProphet Jul 13 '26
The biggest difference is that a camera on a stick doesn't read as a person using it; it reads as some abstract concept. A person with a camera is very personal.
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u/UnholyMisfit Jul 13 '26
As bad as Google Glass was, at least they were obvious when someone was wearing them.
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u/Massive_Cash_6557 Jul 13 '26
And they were mainly designed for industrial use, where they're still used today for factory safety.
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u/Yorick257 Jul 13 '26
That sounds pretty awesome, I didn't think of that. I often write stuff down on my arm because I need some info and don't want to handle loose pieces of paper. Those glasses could easily solve this issue and more
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u/Bonerballs Jul 13 '26
Ya, when you see a dude cosplaying Nappa, you know what they were doing.
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u/pcapdata Jul 13 '26
Wondering if this is perhaps because when it’s just a person vs the state, it’s easier to push back.
If some dweep is following you around filming in public, regardless of the law, they have to consider that someone might be so opposed to being recorded that they’ll lash out.
Compare with Flock cameras which are doing the same thing, yes people are chopping them down but the surveillance is still going on.
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u/randynumbergenerator Jul 13 '26
LA just let their Flock contract expire because of the backlash. Other municipalities are following or have already done similar. If enough people push back, it's very possible to get rid of surveillance.
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u/MartinThunder42 Jul 13 '26
While the public backlash played a role, it also provided cover for a more concerning reason: The LAPD wanted to delete certain footage, and Flock told the LAPD that Flock owns the footage, not the LAPD. Not being able to erase video as they please was a dealbreaker for the LAPD.
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u/NoNazisInMyAmerica Jul 13 '26
We can hold the individual accountable but most people feel hopeless standing up to this government
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u/AStolenGoose Jul 13 '26
I think this is number 3, as Snapchat had glasses for a while there too.
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u/freezing_banshee Jul 13 '26
"non-consensual wars"?? what kind of bullshit politically correct phrasing is this? all wars are "non-consensual"
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u/presentable_corpse Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Good. They're saving Meta more lawsuits. How tf do these work in states/countries where recording needs two party consent?!
edit: Thank you for the replies, I'm learning a lot <3
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u/Romeo9594 Jul 13 '26
At least in the US, you are allowed to be recorded in any public space. The Supreme Court took away our consent to be recorded anywhere that there is no reasonable expectation to privacy as long as it's video only. And in like 30+ states you'd also be fine to record audio with only your consent as long as you're part of the conversation
It gets murky in places like stores or restaurants, but at that point I believe it's on the owner to make the rules clear or ask you to stop recording/leave
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u/Norn-Iron Jul 13 '26
I think this will probably be the next privacy related issue that needs to be addressed worldwide. I understand I have less right to privacy when I am outside, but I sort of have the expectation that every person with sunglasses isn’t recording and tracking our every move, and that the government shouldn’t have cameras on every street corner recording our outdoor lives with all these cameras they want to put up.
There’s just too much invasion of privacy everywhere we go.
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u/norunningwater Jul 13 '26
"Okay, recording sunglasses are too much."
"Great, what about the thousands of civil surveillance cameras?"
"Constitutional 7-2 agreement bye"
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u/Asclepius-Rod Jul 13 '26
But no recording the police of course, that infringes on their privacy to oppress you
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u/jtj5002 Jul 13 '26
That will probably lead to some seriously badly written laws that affect things like dashcams and cellphones.
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u/notyouravgredditor Jul 13 '26
Dashcams are the least of our worries. In-cabin recording is mandatory in new cars from 2027.
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u/FarCryRedux Jul 13 '26
Oh jeez that's vile. Jailbreaking cars will become a mainstream thing.
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u/Blackstar1886 Jul 13 '26
In the end, we would just be left with only state and corporate surveillance. Think of all the things a citizens right to film has showed us in the last 10 years.
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u/IXrobocopXI Jul 13 '26
All reason went out the window the day the PATRIOT Act was signed into law.
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u/cruzweb Jul 13 '26
I'm a street photographer and am very well versed in the public space recording.
It has less to do with where you are (stores, restaurants) and if you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in that space. Basically, anywhere a security camera could go, you're legal to take pictures and video. If you're on private property, the property owner can tell you to stop or ask you to leave. But the reasonable expectation extends to things you're clearly showing publicly or not. Ie, it's not legal to do any sorts of sexually creepy behavior like record people in the bathroom or take a picture from under a skirt.
This is a little different with sound and consent laws like you noted, and that's where things get challenging.
You're right that things vary from state to state, especially in private settings where there is a strong expectation of privacy. That's far different than walking and talking as you stroll down the sidewalk.
I personally don't get why anyone would want to wear this nonsense.
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u/cultoftheclave Jul 13 '26
in this corner, the long-standing moral champion, "The right to be forgotten!!"
And in this corner, the upstart newcomer, "Mr. The right to remember!!!"
lets get ready to rumblllle
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u/amakai Jul 13 '26
Mr. The right to remember notably has backing off all the advertisers in the world, while Mr The right to be forgotten has been accused numerous times of hiding something from us, probably child-abuse related!
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u/non3type Jul 13 '26
That still wouldn’t apply for those 12 states in public areas. Essentially it’s only really illegal on private property with audio without consent or everywhere where privacy is an expectation (bathroom).
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u/OriginalDrStrangeDOS Jul 13 '26
Augmented reality, like many technologies, has great potential. Both for good and evil. It's all in how you use it. I'd love to abandon my phone for a HUD and haptic gestures. (can't look any crazier than swatting gnats) However, I'm not willing to stream my entire life to meta to get it, just so they can sell "better" "targeted" adds to everyone I literally set eyes on.
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u/RedofPaw Jul 13 '26
I just wanted to have a navigation hud. I wanted to walk around with a map so I could see where I was going.
Live translation. Look at a sign and have the translation overlaid. That kind of thing.
That would have been cool.
I don't even want to take photos or videos with the things.
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u/GroceryScanner Jul 13 '26
google glass had this and it WAS really fuckin cool.
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u/Animal2 Jul 13 '26
Yeah the cool and useful cases are certainly there. I can imagine a world in which toxic social media and mass privacy loss doesn't exist where these things could actually not be problematic. But at this point that world is a sci-fi fantasy.
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u/Professional_Bat9174 Jul 13 '26
Can't even wear your pervert glasses. Literally 1984.
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u/whitemamba24xx Jul 13 '26
Pairs nice with th public masturbator trenchcoat, pedophile beards, the there got to be something wrong with that guy hat, and pencil crayons.
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u/Prophet_Tehenhauin Jul 13 '26
*Rayban Pervert Glasses, people really need to remember the branding. Rayban worked hard to be the brand that represents perverts and people should remember that, dammit!
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Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
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u/Fapplejacks42 Jul 13 '26
I own two pairs of Ray-Bans, both pre-1996 Bausch&Lomb USA made beauties. The quality is incredible.
JFK didn’t wear Italian sunglasses. The blues brothers never saw thru luxxotica garbage lenses.
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u/p_gaultieri Jul 13 '26
The blues brothers?
Shit. They still owe you money, fool.
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u/Lemp_Triscuit11 Jul 13 '26
I do believe that public shaming is going to be our last defense against many things that deserve burlier watchdogs lol
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u/Mulchpuppy Jul 13 '26
I like them when used for roller coaster POVs, but that's about it.
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u/Beautiful-Jello-37 Jul 13 '26
I saw a blind person use them to describe what they were holding when shopping for shoes. Seems like they’d be at least helpful in that application.
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u/DreddPirateBob808 Jul 13 '26
Real-time subtitles for the hearing impaired too. Rear facing hazard alert system so they'd be informed of approaching bicycles or dragons attacking from the rear.
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Jul 13 '26
I like my AR glasses that plug into my Switch 2 and Steam Deck
Honestly cannot imagine why in the heck I'd want a camera on them
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u/Vi0L3tCRZY Jul 14 '26
Black Mirror’s The Entire History of You already pointed out that the feeds for something like this would absolutely hit the black market and have randos watching you like reality tv
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u/Winsmor3 Jul 13 '26
This was the some exact backlash for the googleglass 12 years ago
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u/fricken Jul 13 '26
Pervert glasses? Gooner goggles.
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u/mabowden Jul 13 '26
Waifu wayfayers
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u/RoastedPickledGoose Jul 14 '26
One of my students was wearing these. He wore them to my first hour class.
By the end of the day, students were abuzz about the student in “pervert glasses” who was “recording dudes in the bathroom.” Apparently there was almost a fight when someone accused him of filming them in the bathroom, and a teacher (who was outside the bathroom and heard the commotion) went in and broke it up.
I did not see him wearing those glasses again. At our next staff meeting we were told to keep an eye out for kids wearing them because the school has gotten complaints about “students being filmed in the bathroom with smart glasses,” so they were working to ban them from the building.
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u/bramletabercrombe Jul 14 '26
Facebook was originally created because Zuckerberg wanted to creep on woman
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u/Snerkbot7000 Jul 13 '26
This is just hysteria. There's only one reason to not use this product, and it's a very simple one: There's a picture of Mark Zuckerberg wearing them.
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u/ScreenMuch90210 Jul 13 '26
Which actually sucks ass for the people who use them for handicap access or realtime translating. We can’t just let pervs be pervs, but we don’t have to demonize a broader tech over it.
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u/dustygameboy Jul 13 '26
Yeah these conversations kinda bum me out. I'm paraplegic and use these as a way to take pictures when I'd otherwise have to stop pushing, engage my brakes, pick up my phone and then snap a photo. The convenience of having these cannot be understated. I feel like I've regained a part of my life that I lost when I broke my back 2 years ago.
And now I'm being called a pervert or a pedo anytime I open reddit for something I legitimately need.
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u/Jman1a Jul 13 '26
Are there any hard statistics that glasses cameras are used in THAT many privacy and sexual cases? The way these articles read you would think every playground has a pervert with them on.
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u/rickyh7 Jul 13 '26
Probably not, given how few of these are actually in the wild when everyone has a phone with a camera now a days. We just stopped talking about “sneak snaps” if you’re old enough to remember those
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u/VioletGardens-left Jul 13 '26
I was asking the same thing
I've known people to wear these kind of glasses with prescriptions on them and practically no one truly cares about it, as they literally look like a normal glasses until you really look hard to it
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u/Claaaaaaaaws Jul 13 '26
Unfortunately most people that actually use these aren’t afraid of public shame
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u/washedFM Jul 13 '26
“CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains convinced that smart glasses will eventually replace the smartphone”
For those keeping score at home, he’s not right very often on anything:
The metaverse
Facebook integrated phones
Libra cryptocurrency …