The creator of Nearby Glasses made the app after reading 404 Media’s coverage of how people are using Meta’s Ray-Bans smartglasses to film people without their knowledge or consent. “I consider it to be a tiny part of resistance against surveillance tech.”
more at: @feed@404media.co
Admittedly, this is cyberpunk as fuck.
Should not be needed… but it’s a fucking cool solution.
Next step is for someone makes a version that hijacks the Bluetooth headphones and makes them play a loud shrill noise that makes the glasses too uncomfortable to wear in your pressence.
Install this on kali nethunter and make glassholes pay for their crimes.
Should be expanded for IP cams
I agree but the biggest defense for this is to always assume you’re being recorded when in public even if you’re not. You never know.
The issue becomes relevant in private spaces, to me. Nobody with smart glasses is coming into my home.
Doesn’t this boil down to self-censorship in public? Better not critizise the government in public becaus you never know whos waring smart glasses…
I agree with the core of your point. I’d like to assert, though, that all people exert some level of self-censorship in public on the basis of the opinions of their neighbors and peers. Having to worry about powerful organizations like governments and megacorps also always being there (instead of just sometimes, or usually) adds a new degree of reason to self-censor, for sure.
Yes. You should have to censor yourself for neighbors and peers to have a functioning society. You should not have to do it for corporations. The line is pretty cut and dry and we should fight to keep it.
the biggest defense for this is to always assume you’re being recorded when in public even if you’re not
So women in July should wear tarps?
What posible application is there for this CreepTech?
I just re-watched Ghost in the Shell SAC Laughing Man last night, and wouldn’t mind seeing these things get hacked with the Laughing Man logo replacing any face it was looking at, re-writing signs, etc.
Wasnt there a ton of outrage and such incl people not being allowed on planes, back when google glass was released?
Why is it all OK now?
Same reason our governments suck ass. Something unpopular tries to get passed again, and again, and again, and again, and eventually people get desensitized and worn out from trying to fight against it. That or it hits on the right time when people are distracted by something else bigger or more important.
I remember Google Glass itself receiving a ton of outrage actually: People hated it and anyone wearing one was made fun of (“glassholes” was a popular insult at the time).
I’ll still use it for the meta garbage, but I think the reason is that the glasses are just inconspicuous enough for most normies to not notice they are being recorded. Till the moron wearing them starts staring off into space while reading tweets at least.
Many years of indoctrination. When Google glass was introduced, it was just ‘a neat idea’. Now it’s a product, and therefore it’s clearly more trustworthy because someone is profiting from it. (/s)
There’s a window of attention for public discourse and there’s fatigue. We, as a group, can only be upset about so much. It’s a tried tactic to just try to distract us with some crazy shit, like Trump did with the alien files. If one crazy thing comes up in the news, other stuff will drop from our radar. And that’s why people try shit again and again and again. Always in the hope that this time people are distracted by other stuff or are finally worn down enough.
It still isn’t OK.
It is just that the technology became so small, you can’t differentiate with regular sunglasses anymore.
I mean you kind of still can. Wire frame sunglasses are still too small to have recording hardware.
They should be only with transparent plastic a flashing LED that signals CREEP in morse.
Years of privacy violations going deeper and deeper under pretend of “progress” and “pRoTeCt the cHiLdReN”. I am glad that people started rebelling against Flock, and some removed their Amazon cameras following the Superbowl’s ads, but that’s not even close to how much we should be mad at these mass surveillance actors.
Years of privacy violations going deeper and deeper under pretend of “progress” and “pRoTeCt the cHiLdReN”.
Github (APK) link, if you’re on a privacy phone: https://github.com/yjeanrenaud/yj_nearbyglasses
Perfect response. Record someone without consent, it should be the last time those glasses are wearable.
I can’t speak to the laws in other nations but in the US it depends a lot on where they’re recording. If you’re just out on the street, it’s not only not a crime to record in public, it’s a protected right. So if you punch them they’d be solidly in their rights to mace you or break your legs, maybe even shoot you in many states. And then have you arrested and force you to pay for a new pair of glasses.
But if they were doing that shit on private property or somewhere worse like a restroom, give them the ol western bouncer treatment and send them flying out the door with a broken pair of glasses. I mean you could assault them out in public too, but there could be some unpleasant consequences.
I mean, eventually there are going to be people with camera’s stealthily integrated directly into their eyeballs recording non-stop.
Like that black mirror episode letting people relive any moment from their past.
The wireless communication protocol will still be able to be intercepted. A physical port for data transfer will probably be too dangerous to the subject and prone to contamination (and infection).
It apparently works with the bluetooth signals which I found really smart.
Couldn’t people who specifically want to stealthily record people just turn off the bluetooth?
I believe Bluetooth is always on with the Meta glasses, at least the last gen. They offload everything to the phone. I got a pair as a work gift and only use them as sunglasses with headphones built-in so I can listen to podcasts on walks.
My partner got a pair for work when they first came out (her job involves creating social media content). I was impressed by the speakers and it’s the same style of sunglasses that I normally wear daily, so I got a pair for myself. It was so nice to be able to listen to stuff and take calls without carry around headphones or putting them in when the phone rang. I was already uncomfortable with the association with meta, but was able to isolate that aspect at first. As they continued to add features, I’ve started being less comfortable with them. I accidentally left them somewhere a couple months ago and decided not to replace them. It’s such a bummer that all the cool tech is now not just spying on you, but on everyone around you. Fuckin capitalism ruins everything.
You know what sucks?
In that AR glasses, in theory, are such an interesting technology with lots of potential, and certainly a piece of tech I would love to have and work with and on. Not to secretly record people, but to, well… augment my field of view with whatever digital tools or displays I would like. It would be so useful
It’s honestly kinda saddening to me that it most likely will get completely ruined by our current toxic relationship to technology. A step towards our ever increasing cyberdystopia, and not towards enchanting our limited lives
Obviously either way I don’t trust Meta, but an open-hardware device running a FOSS AR system? It would be nice…
I still hold out hope that this somehow could be resolved, and I would love to contribute to open software for these devices. Maybe one day soon-ish I will. My expertise should be well applicable, after all
Drop the cameras and microphones and replace them with a couple accelerometers and gyros. Paired with your phone’s GPS tracking, the glasses can tell where you’re looking without actually seeing anything. You can get handy features like a floating ‘turn here’ sign over your exit while driving with GPS navigation without recording anyone or anything at any time. Better battery life, too.
It would be incredibly useful in construction. Having a digital overlay telling you exactly where to put up the framing for a separating wall, or an overlay showing the correct distance between screws, or where wires and pipes are inside a wall? There are so incredibly many awesome possible uses for AR in construction.
It’s already used in construction as a documentation device. Photos are big as a documentation tool and some inspectors already use wearable cameras as a tool.
ok, but they don’t try and hide them do they?
I know one engineer who bought the Meta glasses due to the form factor. For others with the Go Pro, they usually mount the cameras on their hard hat, which makes it easy to see since black hard hats are rare.
The truth is that we already are living in the surveillance state and people are just going to have to “get over” being recorded in public by anyone that walks by.
I don’t like it either. But that’s the reality we’re entering into, where privacy isn’t a right but a privilege and that privilege does not exist save for some very select (if any at this point) places like your home … Maybe.
No, people do not have to get over that. People need to stand up for their rights. Being in a public space isn’t justification to have your movements recorded and logged 24/7. Stop being the fucking knee you coward.
I’m just being realistic about the future. You already are carrying around a machine that’s listening and watching. You’re walking into and out of stores where you’re on camera. Hell you’re driving past however many cameras in your car or walking past them on the street, every business, every office, every space has cameras now.
Thus, I think eventually more and more augmented reality devices will be seen because people will come to appreciate their uses outside of just being recording devices once that concern is overcome. In other words, wearing AR glasses won’t get you default labeled as some perverted weirdo.
You don’t need to bend the knee but we’re past the point where there should be any expectation of privacy in public spaces. I’m not saying I like it, I’m saying I expect our society to continue to move towards a surveillance model where privacy simply cannot be expected in any public space.
Do I think it’s dystopian and bad, yes, yes I do. I also think we need strong privacy protections for our private domiciles. That doesn’t mean my opinion is aligned with what actually is going to happen in our world.
I don’t want it but it’s what is going to happen and has been happening.
While I agree that AR glasses will become widespread, there’s still time to advocate for and implement privacy focused regulations. Especially early on as people are upset about the technology
While not perfect solutions, enforcing stuff such as recording LEDs and such are steps in the right direction
AR glasses will become widespread
I was picking up my new prescription glasses this week at a large mall. They had Ray Ban and Oakley Meta glasses and the clerk said they have not sold a single pair.
Using an AR display on those glasses with frames that thick is such a horrible idea. Google was on the right track with the HUD displayed on a frame-less prism that doesn’t block half your vision.
Last thing I’d want is to be in the middle of something with my hands full and the display bugs out, blocking the one eye, making me screw something up.
Last thing I’d want is to be in the middle of something with my hands full and the display bugs out, blocking the one eye, making me screw something up.
Maybe don’t cause your own problems.
I mean, that was sorta the point of the comment…
I don’t like them and therefore, I won’t be using them, ever. I’d get a less obstructing headset instead. And, I wouldn’t get a headset just to play around with it, I’d actually want to use it and try to get to it help me doing things.
It’s only a matter of time before someone is arrested on suspicion of voyerism and there is evidence of him staring at some girl’s boobs.
Every guy does this, but “Looking at cleavage is like looking at the sun. You don’t stare at it. It’s too risky. Ya get a sense of it and then you look away!”
-Jerry Seinfeld.
Paywalled article. Here’s the link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.pocketpc.nearbyglasses
Edit: it’s licensed under a license I never heard of. I’m curious, I don’t understand why it was needed.
“Why draft new licenses? Until now, there has been no standardization of this kind of source code license, even though it has become increasingly common. This has resulted in confusing and overlapping licenses, which need to be analyzed one at a time. Lack of standardization has used up the time and resources of many in the software industry, as well as their lawyers. The objective of the PolyForm Project is standardization and reduction of costs for developers and users.”
Seems like that exact XKCD about standards.
That license looks like Creative Commons Non-Comercial, which is not an open source license.
This is an unpopular opinion, but using licenses to actively prevent commercial exploitation of voluntary communal labor is not a bad thing. I would even argue that allowing commercial exploitation of free, communally-maintained software is downright unethical. I don’t tolerate this pejorative “it’s not open source unless the rich and powerful can exploit it” bullshit.
This is not a remotely unpopular opinion, sharing is awesome and corpos can suck it
I know, and yet the code is open source. Confusing.
No, the code is available, which is not the same as open source.
Open season on meta wearers when?
Green light!
i mean… you can also just look around and see the guy with the dorky out-of-place classes…
You are thinking Google Glass. Those aint those anymore.
Na, I’m looking at the RAY-BAN META GLASSES and they look strait out of some 1970s/1980s “I work at NASA/IBM” movie. Still dorky.
Still dorky.
you must be in the US, where everyone wears these
I dislike Facebook and deleted my account even before they changed to “Meta”. I also value privacy.
But what privacy violations do “smart glasses” provide that weren’t already trivially available? Tiny cameras are insanely cheap. A reasonably handy person could hide several on their person and there are plenty of “spy shops” that sell actual wearable hidden cameras.
The “I love ICE” kid was wearing Meta Ray Bans but the first video I saw of it was from someone else’ camera. I can’t leave the house without getting filmed from multiple angles. The only thing those glasses do is make it really obvious that the wearer is a dumbass.
The difference is that meta glasses constantly upload to their creepy servers to do automatic face recognition.
now if i could get that app without a phone, and with a warning of nearby phones too…
Prolly use a Flipper Zero
Warning: there is probably a bunch of phones near you right now.
Can I set mine to loudly blare, “pedophile detected!”?
Wouldn’t your phone screaming “pedophile detected!” make it seem like its referring to you ?
Can we not call everyone we don’t like pedophiles? It lowers the impact of the word when it’s used against an actual pedo. It also makes it harder to reason with those people because they just think of you as name callers.
Sorry bro, I’m still calling you that if you are wearing these glasses.
It’s not a stretch
https://evrimagaci.org/gpt/bbc-breakfast-exposes-secret-smart-glasses-filming-scandal-523718
I don’t think highly of people that choose to partner with these companies to sacrifice both their own privacy and that of those around them.
You call them what you want to call them, but I think the negative stigma here is good.
It’s a huge stretch. Most of the people buying these glasses are just interested in technology, see this cool new thing, and are ignorant to privacy because they already use social media and whatnot. Creeps use phones to take underskirt pictures of girls too, so are you going to go around calling every phone owner a creep? People like you who see ignorant “normies” as malicious enemies are what’s wrong with the privacy community. Like I said earlier, we should educate, not name call.
‘people like you’ don’t give consumers enough credit. They aren’t ignorant to the privacy concerns. That’s nonsense. They just don’t care about them. People buying these glasses take it a step further though by disrespecting the privacy of others. For that, I will ostracize them and their apologists.
Also what so “cool” exactly to you about strapping an ip camera to your face?I’m not going to argue with you anymore. Let’s agree to disagree 👍
Technically one of us is supposed to call the other a cunt at this point, but will accept your breach of protocol.
