You’ve probably noticed that smart glasses are becoming harder to spot. New models, such as the Meta Ray-Bans, resemble ordinary eyewear while including small cameras capable of recording video with little outward indication they are active. Manufacturers typically include a tiny LED near the temple to signal recording, but workarounds that disable or obscure that indicator have already appeared. In response, an Android app called Nearby Glasses aims to give people an early warning when smart glasses are nearby.
The app was developed by sociologist and hobbyist developer Yves Jeanrenaud. According to reporting by TechCrunch, Jeanrenaud said his motivation came from witnessing how these devices are sometimes misused, including incidents where glasses were used to record people without consent in private settings and reports of officials wearing them while on duty. Those concerns prompted him to create a lightweight detector that can run on a phone in the background.
How the app actually works
Nearby Glasses operates continuously in the background and scans for Bluetooth signals that match identifiers used by smart-glasses makers such as Meta, Luxottica (the company behind Ray-Ban eyewear), and Snap. When the app detects a matching Bluetooth signature, it sends a notification to let you know that smart glasses are likely nearby. The app also includes a settings option that lets users add custom Bluetooth identifiers, allowing it to flag additional wearable devices beyond the initially recognized manufacturers.
Jeanrenaud acknowledges the app can generate false positives. Some other devices, such as VR headsets from the same manufacturers, share overlapping Bluetooth signatures, so the detector may sometimes flag those gadgets as well. Even so, the broader privacy concern the app addresses is familiar: when Google Glass emerged in 2013, the device triggered public backlash. Venues including bars, casinos, and movie theaters implemented bans, and a social stigma developed around wearing visible, recording-capable glasses. The current generation of smart glasses differs because many models truly look like ordinary frames, making them far harder to identify by sight and harder to confront if you suspect you are being recorded.
That difficulty of visual identification is a major reason apps like Nearby Glasses are appearing. Manufacturers continue to expand offerings and add capabilities: some companies are integrating heads-up displays, AI features, or other sensors into new frames. As more companies enter the market and more styles become available, the potential for misuse or inadvertent privacy intrusions increases. A simple Bluetooth-detection approach does not eliminate those risks, but it does provide an additional, lightweight tool for aware individuals to reduce the element of surprise.
Nearby Glasses is designed with privacy in mind. The developer states the app collects no user data and does not display advertisements. It is offered for free on the Google Play Store and the project’s code is available on GitHub for anyone who wants to inspect how it works. At the time of writing, there is no iPhone version available, which limits the tool to Android users for now.
While detection apps are not a complete solution to the privacy concerns raised by wearable cameras, they represent one practical step toward giving people more control and awareness in public and private spaces. Responsible design, transparency from manufacturers, and clear social norms around recording will also play important roles in shaping how these devices are used moving forward. In the meantime, apps like Nearby Glasses offer a simple, optional layer of protection for those who want to be alerted when recording-capable eyewear is in their vicinity.