A signal is not the same as understanding
Visible recording lights are often presented as a practical safeguard for camera glasses. The idea is reasonable: a person should not need to guess whether a device pointed in their direction is recording.
But the value of a signal depends on whether it can be seen and understood in the setting where it matters. A small light can be missed in daylight, from the side, in a crowded room, or by someone who has never been told what it means.
The question behind the light
Even a clearly visible indicator only answers one part of the question. It does not tell a bystander whether sound is being captured, whether the video will be uploaded, whether it will be used with other tools, or how long it will remain available.
Ireland's Data Protection Commission and the Italian Garante have both raised questions about wearable cameras, notice, and the effect on people who did not choose to take part. Those questions place technical signals inside a social setting, where a light can be seen without offering the whole picture.
Design for the person who did not buy the device
Good notice needs more than a feature printed on a product page. It needs product design that makes recording legible, venue policies that make expectations clear, and room for people to opt out where capture would be especially intrusive.
Bystanders should not have to become device experts to understand a basic change in their surroundings. A recording light can contribute to notice. It should not be treated as the end of the discussion.