A new app alerts you if someone close to you is wearing smart glasses

One of the main problems with “fancy surveillance” devices, such as smart glasses with built-in video recording cameras, is that they often look indistinguishable from regular glasses, meaning you could be being recorded without knowing it.

But now there’s an app that can detect and alert you when someone near you is wearing smart glasses, or potentially other permanent recording technologies.

The Android app, aptly named Nearby Glasses, constantly scans for nearby signals emitted by Bluetooth-enabled technology, such as wearables made by Meta (and Oakley) and Snap.

The app is launching at a time when there is growing resistance against always-on recording or listening devices, which critics say process information about people nearby who do not give their consent.

Yves Jeanrenaud, who made the app, first spoke to 404 Media about the project and said he was partly inspired to create the Nearby Glasses after reading the independent publication’s reports about wearable surveillance devices, including how Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses were used in immigration raids and to film and harass sex workers.

On the app’s project page, Genrino described smart glasses as “an intolerable intrusion, a neglect of consent, and a terrible piece of technology.”

Jeanreno told TechCrunch in an email that his motivation came from “witnessing the sheer scale and inhumane nature of the abuse these smart glasses engage in.” Genrino also cited Meta’s decision to implement facial recognition as a default feature in its smart glasses, “which I view as a huge open gate to all kinds of privacy-invasive behavior.”

The app works by listening for nearby Bluetooth signals that contain an assigned identifier that is generally unique to the manufacturer of the Bluetooth device. If the app detects a Bluetooth signal from a nearby device made by Meta or Snap, the app will send an alert to the user. (The app also allows users to add their own Bluetooth IDs, allowing the user to discover a broader range of wearable monitoring tools.)

The app may be vulnerable to false positives, Genrino said. This means the app might detect a nearby Meta virtual reality headset and alert the user into thinking it’s a pair of smart glasses made by the same device manufacturer. However, VR headsets are usually larger and more visible to the person wearing the device.

To try this out, I downloaded the app on my Android phone and walked around my city. (To my surprise) I found no one wearing smart glasses, nor did I receive an alert.

But since the app allowed it, I added a specific Bluetooth ID (0x004C), which allowed me to scan for nearby Apple-made devices — and my test device was immediately filled with alerts (as you might expect), likely picking up every Apple-made device near me.

This showed that the application worked as designed.

Geneno is still adding new features, and he said there is demand for the iPhone app, but it depends on free time and availability.

Speaking about the app, Genreno said: “Of course, it’s a technical solution to a social problem (which is amplified by technology), and it’s not going away anytime soon,” describing the app as a “desperate act of resistance, in the hope that it will help at least someone.”

Spokespeople for Meta and Snap did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.