Technologies

Can You Tell if You’re Being Filmed by Smart Glasses? Here’s What the Devices Look Like

You don’t want to be secretly recorded by a wearer of Meta Ray-Bans. We’ll explain the distinguishing features of popular smart glasses.

Meta is facing another lawsuit, after an investigation by Swedish news outlets found that photos and videos captured by the company’s smart glasses can be reviewed by overseas workers. The lawsuit alleges that this access to footage — including sensitive content like nudity — goes against privacy laws and Meta’s own advertising claims.

Let’s backtrack: Meta Ray-Bans look like a chunkier pair of normal black Ray-Ban Wayfarers, and the average person probably wouldn’t suspect that those frames contain a hidden camera.

When I told my friend about them, she was disgusted. “Ew,” she said. “Why do those exist?”

I’ve never owned a pair of smart glasses, but I saw them in the wild twice last year. Once was when I was riding the New York City subway and noticed a person sitting across from me wearing the frames.

The other time was when I struck up a conversation with a guy at a bar. It took a minute in the dimly lit room, but then I recognized the telltale signs of his smart glasses.

I was unsettled. For a moment, I had the feeling of encountering an urban creature like a rat or raccoon, and I didn’t know how to behave.

“Act natural,” I told myself. He wasn’t recording me (I’m pretty certain), but I knew that he could be.

Smart glasses and privacy problems

Much of the general public still doesn’t know anything about smart glasses, and that’s a major problem.

Some smart glasses wearers are exploiting the ignorance by harassing strangers and filming their reactions. Many of their victims are homeless people, service workers and women.

These glasses aren’t a niche product, either. Meta sold 7 million pairs of smart glasses in 2025. For a relatively low price (they start at $300), “manfluencers” and other content creators can buy a pair of Meta Ray-Bans and use them to record unwitting subjects.

Smart glasses can be used to surveil people who participate in protests or secretly record people in restrooms and other public places. The privacy problem will only get worse if companies add facial recognition features to their smart glasses — and Meta is reportedly planning to do just that.

It may not always be possible to stop someone from filming you in public without your consent. But you can make it harder for this new generation of “glassholes” to film you in secret. The first step is knowing how to identify the technology.

What do smart glasses look like?

Not all smart glasses look alike, and not all models have cameras. The vast majority of camera glasses currently available are produced by Meta.

The easiest way to identify a pair is by locating the indicator light — a small LED bulb that turns on when the wearer is taking a picture or video.

According to CNET editor and wearable tech expert Scott Stein, “Each pair of smart glasses has its own type of indicator. And many smart glasses do different things. We don’t have a clear mental map of what to look for. That’s a big part of the problem.”

Meta Ray-Bans have been around since 2021. (They launched under the name Ray-Ban Stories.) A slimmer second-generation model was introduced in 2023.

The latest iteration includes a small screen built into one of the lenses, though from most angles, this feature is only visible to the wearer.

All Meta Ray-Ban models have relatively thick plastic frames with a camera lens located in the frame’s upper left corner (or upper right if you’re facing the wearer). On the opposite corner is the LED light, which automatically turns on when the wearer is filming. It lights up when a photo is taken and pulses when recording a video.

To take a photo or record a video, the user presses the capture button on the right arm of the glasses (near the LED light). The user can also use voice commands: “Hey Meta, take a photo” or “Hey Meta, take a video.”

Meta also produces glasses in partnership with Oakley. The HSTN model looks like a rounded version of the Ray-Ban frames, with the camera and LED in the same location. But the Vanguard model looks more like wraparound goggles than glasses, and its camera and LED are found in the center of the nose bridge.

In addition to the indicator LED is an audio cue: A shutter snap sound can be heard when a picture is taken. However, both of these cues are relatively subtle.

Even if you’re aware of smart glasses indicators, you might not know for sure if you’re being filmed. Outside in direct sunlight, it’s virtually impossible to detect when the recording light is on.

Smart glasses owners can also cover up the LED with a sticker or modify the frame to disable the light altogether (though they aren’t supposed to do this). And Amazon sells some pairs of glasses with a pinhole camera, which seem tailor-made for creeps to record people in secret.

The smart glasses future is already here

Smart glasses are a relatively new technology with plenty of potential. They can be useful for visually impaired people. They allow artists, woodworkers, chefs and other creators to capture footage while their hands are occupied.

But they can also be dangerous.

Unfortunately, few current laws regulate smart glasses and deter abusers. But as the devices become more common, social norms will develop and guide their usage, just as social norms developed for recording with phones.

By being able to recognize smart glasses in public, you’re reducing the chances for pranksters and bad actors to exploit you. You’re helping to shape this emergent technology, to define what it can — and can’t — do.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”