App that warns about nearby smart glasses

A new Android app called Nearby Glasses scans Bluetooth signals to flag camera-equipped smart glasses nearby — a direct counterpunch to the creeping normalization of what critics are calling “luxury surveillance.”

The Nearby Glasses scans ambient Bluetooth signals and alerts users when someone in range is wearing camera-equipped smart glasses. The app identifies manufacturer-specific Bluetooth signatures from devices, including Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses and Snap’s Spectacles.

Creator Yves Jeanrenaud, a sociologist, built the app after researching how smart glasses were used in immigration raids and to harass sex workers. He told TechCrunch the app is an “act of resistance” against consentless ambient recording and is considering an iOS version.

Smart glasses don’t just record as phones do — they make recording invisible, collapsing the social cues that let people notice, object, or step away, and right now, there’s no legal framework requiring them to announce themselves. As surveillance tech gets sleeker, we’re likely to see more counter-tools like this app.