NearLens editorial
Smart glasses privacy articles
Reporting and analysis on recording, recognition, consent, Bluetooth awareness and the shared-space questions raised by wearable technology.
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Smart glasses and privacy
How Smart-Glasses Privacy Changed From Recording to Recognition
Smart glasses have moved the privacy question from visible recording to the possibility of immediate identification.
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Bystander notice
Can a Tiny Recording Light Give Bystanders Meaningful Notice?
A recording indicator can be useful, but it is not a complete answer to the bystander privacy problem.
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Face recognition
I-XRAY and the Moment Smart Glasses Met Face Recognition
The I-XRAY demonstration showed why linking smart glasses with public-face search deserves careful scrutiny.
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Ambient audio
Halo X and the Cost of Always-On Listening
Audio wearables can promise help in the moment while raising hard questions about consent and the people nearby.
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Human review and privacy
The Human Review in Kenya's Smart-Glasses Investigation
Reports about footage reviewed by annotators in Nairobi raise hard questions about human access to images captured by smart glasses.
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Product direction
What Meta's Name Tag Discussion Says About Facial Recognition
Reported exploratory work around face recognition in glasses makes a case for public rules before a capability becomes routine.
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Civil liberties
Your Glasses Should Not Know My Name
The ACLU's response to wearable facial recognition centres a simple boundary: people should not be silently identified in everyday life.
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Market context
Smart Glasses Are Scaling. Privacy Needs to Scale Too.
Market projections show why bystander privacy should be addressed while smart glasses are still becoming ordinary.
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Privacy by design
Bluetooth Awareness Without Turning Bystanders Into Watchers
Bluetooth detection can signal that a compatible device may be nearby, but it cannot prove recording or identify the wearer.