Camera-equipped smart glasses are fun if you just want to take snapshots and social videos on the go and get AI-powered information like translations without taking out your phone. They can be misused, though, and despite security measures to prevent it, pick-up artists, clout chasers, and outright stalkers have started using them to secretly record women without their consent. It’s why the entire category has developed the unfortunate nickname of “pervert glasses.”
Now, I’m not a creep, but I know smart glasses better than just about anyone. I’ve been them since they first hit the market and have tested and reviewed many, many pairs. That experience means I can help you spot the warning signs. Keep reading for my best tips on how to tell if a date—or even a stranger—might be secretly recording you.
The Creepy New Trend in Smart Glasses
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses offer good image quality, as seen in these nature and pet photos (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)
Smart glasses offer a wide range of capabilities, but you should be particularly aware of pairs with built-in cameras. The most popular, prominent, and least noticeable ones are Meta’s smart glasses. Meta has worked with both Oakley and Ray-Ban to make fashionable glasses with a built-in AI assistant, speakers for audio, and, yes, cameras. Those cameras have gotten surprisingly good recently, too; the Ray-Ban Meta and the Oakley Meta HSTN can capture 3K video and 12MP stills. They’re great for casual snapshots and video clips with friends, but that also means they’re useful to losers seeking clout.
Because Oakley and Ray-Ban designed the frames for these Meta-powered smart glasses, they’re available with multiple designs and colors, with both transparent and tinted lenses. The technology inside is so small and discreet that they look and feel almost exactly like regular glasses. There is a giveaway, though, and once you learn how to spot it, you’ll wonder how you didn’t see it before.
It’s worth noting that Meta has recently released its first pair of AI glasses without a camera, the Ray-Ban Meta Audio. It works just like the other smart glasses I mentioned, but it has no camera, making it lighter, about $100 cheaper, and completely free of any pervert-glasses stigma.
Spot the Hidden Camera Lenses
The Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a camera lens on the right and a recording indicator LED on the left (Credit: Andrew Gebhart)
The cameras on both Ray-Ban and Oakley versions of the Meta smart glasses are located on the end pieces of the frames, those bits on the upper-left and upper-right corners of the front that jut out to conceal the hinges. This is a popular spot for shiny little embellishments on traditional, non-smart glasses. Maybe you even own a pair of glasses with tiny diamonds, chrome ovals, or something similar in those spots. They add a bit of flair without distracting too much from the rest of the frames. You might barely notice them, and probably wouldn’t bother to examine them.
Learn to look closely at them, because those embellishments might be camera lenses. If they’re circular and black, with a glossier circle in the center? Those glasses can see you as well as you can see them.
The camera lenses stick out like a sore thumb on light-colored frames, but on black, brown, or gray pairs, they might look downright complementary. They look like shrunken-down versions of the camera lenses on the back of your phone, and typically measure only a few millimeters in diameter. They’ll seem downright obvious in hindsight, but they’re easy to miss or otherwise write off as typical glasses flair.
The ‘Recording Light’ Isn’t Always a Guarantee
Blocking stickers for indicator LEDs on Meta smart glasses (Credit: Amazon)
Most reputable smart glasses with cameras, including all Meta models, have indicator LEDs that let others know when you’re recording. In fact, of those two circles in the corners of the Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta glasses, only the right one (relative to you) is the camera. The opposite one is just the indicator LED, which lights up when the glasses are taking photos or video. It should be very easy to see. Note that I say should.
That light is really, really easy to block. In fact, an unsettling number of Amazon sellers offer stickers or other covers designed specifically to conceal that light. I won’t be linking to them in this story, or in the similarly skeevy smart glasses I describe below.
Hidden Cameras Aren’t Always Obvious
Sunglasses with a pinhole camera in the bridge (Credit: Amazon)
Meta’s models are the most popular and stylish, but hidden camera glasses have been around for years. There are countless pairs on Amazon, many of which conceal their cameras much more than Ray-Ban or Oakley. Instead of a visible lens, they might have an unassuming, nearly invisible pinhole camera.
Pinhole cameras generally produce lower-quality video than those with larger, more visible lenses, but you probably don’t want even grainy video of yourself being recorded without your consent. Look for a telltale pinhole on the glasses, built either into the nose bridge or the end pieces. Single tiny holes usually aren’t used for decoration on glasses frames, so there’s a good chance it’s a camera.
Recommended by Our Editors
I Tried Google’s Screen-Free Smart Glasses, and They’re Exactly What I Want
The Best Smart Glasses for 2026
Google, Samsung Offer First Look at Android XR Smart Glasses. Here’s What You Get, and What’s Missing
Not Just Glasses: Other Sneaky Spy Devices
Even without a pinhole, glasses can potentially hide cameras. One pair on Amazon that stood out to me concealed its camera behind a flat part of the nose bridge. No hole, no lens. Like a pinhole camera, it’s likely to produce poor video quality, but that doesn’t make the invasion of privacy any better.
A pair of smart glasses with a hidden camera in the nose bridge (Credit: Amazon)
It’s hard to tell whether glasses have a camera when it’s so well hidden, but there can still be some signs. If the frames look awkwardly bulky, or there are spots that are uniquely flat or have slightly different textures from the rest of the glasses, that’s a hint.
If you’re getting suspicious, though, you might want to consider hidden cameras in other objects. These days, cameras can fit into almost anything. Water bottles, pens, wristwatches, phone charging docks—you name it, you can put a camera in it. These devices exist and are meant to help you surreptitiously record workplace harassment, elder abuse, or other bad behavior as evidence, but that’s a double-edged sword, and creeps can also use them. And, unfortunately, they’re designed so the cameras are extremely hard to notice at a glance, or even on close examination.
Awareness Is Key
Even with all the ways people can be creepy, there’s no need to panic. Filming with dedicated spy cameras is a worst-case scenario—and likely not the typical approach for most clout-chasing pick-up artist types.
When it comes to the typical manosphere types trying to prove their “value” through manipulation, they usually opt for the easiest, most fashionable route, like Ray-Ban or Oakley Meta glasses. The truly obsessed individuals willing to invest in specialized hidden-camera gear are, thankfully, rare. Ultimately, it’s wise to be aware of all potential risks and take whatever precautions make you feel safe.
About Our Expert
Will Greenwald
Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics
Experience
I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I’ve served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.
Areas of Expertise
Latest By Will Greenwald
- Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Switch 2 Remake Is a Modern Masterpiece
- Amazon Echo Dot Max Review: The New Sweet Spot in Smart Speakers
- Amazon Alexa Voice Remote Pro Review
- Amazon Fire TV Cube Review
- Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Review
- More from Will Greenwald
