A new app is giving people a way to find out when Meta smart glasses may be nearby, tapping into growing concerns about the privacy implications of wearable cameras. Called Zuckoff, the app was created by Polish software developer Pawel Szydlowski after he became concerned by videos showing people being recorded without realizing it.
A privacy alarm for the age of smart glasses
According to a report by Business Insider, Zuckoff is designed to detect nearby smart glasses and estimate how close they are. Its developer says the app identifies the Bluetooth signals broadcast by compatible glasses and uses information from those signals to determine whether a known pair of smart glasses is nearby. Some of the Bluetooth services can reportedly contain identifiers associated with Meta or Ray-Ban devices.
The app has already attracted 5,000 users since launching on Apple’s App Store last month. Its standard scanning screen shows the likely proximity of nearby glasses, while Zuckoff Pro can send notifications when recording-capable smart glasses are detected even when the app is not open.
The timing is significant. Meta’s AI smart glasses are becoming more prominent, while concerns over people being recorded without their knowledge are also increasing. The issue became particularly visible after Meta disabled thousands of glasses when it discovered that their built-in recording indicator LEDs had been tampered with.
Meta has defended the glasses’ privacy design. Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth was recently quoted in the report and said the company designed the camera “to be noticed by the people around you.” But the existence and growing adoption of Zuckoff suggests that some people still want an additional layer of reassurance.
Could phones become the privacy watchdog?
For Szydlowski, the issue goes beyond Meta. He was particularly troubled by videos in which people appeared unaware they were being filmed, with some subjects later being identified or doxxed in comments. He argues that people should at least have a way to know when someone nearby is recording them.
His proposed solution could eventually look more like Apple’s and Google’s approach to Bluetooth trackers. Those companies developed a system that allows iPhones and Android devices to warn users when an unknown tracker appears to be travelling with them. Szydlowski believes smart-glasses makers could adopt a similar industry-wide system, allowing phones to alert people when compatible recording devices are nearby.
That could make the debate around smart glasses less about trusting a tiny LED and more about giving bystanders an independent way to understand what is happening around them.
For now, Zuckoff is an unofficial solution rather than an industry standard. Szydlowski said EU regulators have contacted him for more information about the app, suggesting that privacy questions surrounding camera-equipped wearables may receive increasing regulatory attention.
