The stranger was wearing Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses — visually indistinguishable from regular eyewear, but equipped with a tiny built-in camera in the frame. Just a few hours later, Dilara’s phone was exploding with notifications. The video of their conversation had been uploaded to TikTok without her consent, quickly racking up 1.3 million views.

“I just felt my heart drop,” Dilara recalls. “I wanted to cry.”

Because her phone number accidentally appeared in the frame, she was suddenly bombarded with constant calls and explicit messages. She became an unwilling participant in a new and increasingly cynical online industry.

The Boom of “Smart” Eyewear: Millions of Hidden Cameras on the Streets

The new generation of AI-powered smart glasses developed by Meta (owner of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp) in partnership with optical giant EssilorLuxottica is breaking sales records.

Global sales of Meta glasses reportedly tripled last year, surpassing 7 million units. In 2026, analysts expect explosive growth to 16 million.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called them “one of the fastest-growing consumer gadgets in history.” Apple, Google, and Snap Inc. are already racing to develop competing versions.

But the darker side of this technological boom is alarming. Women around the world increasingly report that their everyday lives — walking down the street, shopping, or relaxing at the beach — are being turned into content for strangers’ social media accounts, often accompanied by sexist or sexualized commentary.

The new wave of covert users has already been nicknamed “glassholes” (a mix of “glass” and an insult). One victim, 56-year-old Kim, was approached on a beach by a man who complimented her swimsuit. Later she discovered the video online, along with thousands of explicit comments asking if she had an OnlyFans account and “what her price was.”

Another woman, Alice, asked a content creator to delete a video of her that was posted as part of so-called “pickup tips.” He allegedly refused, saying he would only remove it for money.

The problem extends beyond dating scenarios. Musician Willow Esteve from Cork discovered a heavily edited clip of her being harassed at a checkout counter on the channel of prank creator Randy Vlad (21-year-old Vladislav Morgulets, with 1.1 million followers), who filmed the interaction using smart glasses.

“I lost control over my own face and body. It’s disgusting,” Willow said.

Why They’re Almost Impossible to Notice

The first attempt at wearable smart cameras — Google Glass over a decade ago — failed due to their obvious, intrusive design and bans in many venues.

Meta’s version, however, looks like stylish everyday eyewear. The camera is discreetly embedded in the frame. A small LED is supposed to blink when recording, but users have already found workarounds: tiny black stickers and covers sold online can fully block the indicator light.

“Even the best engineers in the world could have made recording more visible,” says former Meta AI researcher David Evan Harris. “But companies know a significant portion of users want these glasses specifically to film people covertly.”

Legal Gaps and Growing Backlash

Lawmakers are struggling to keep up. In most countries, filming in public spaces is legal, making prosecution extremely difficult.

One rare conviction recently occurred in the UK in a private setting: 47-year-old David Williams was found guilty of voyeurism after secretly recording an intimate encounter in a hotel room using smart glasses. In that case, privacy laws applied — unlike on the street.

As legal debates continue, some people are taking matters into their own hands. A viral video in New York showed a woman in the subway snatching smart glasses off a man’s face and smashing them on the floor. Social media overwhelmingly supported her: “People are just tired of being constantly filmed by strangers.”