Founder of app that alerts you to 'Pervert Glasses' explains why he’s fighting back against surveillance
Dr Yves Jeanrenaud, founder of Nearby Glasses, told LBC videos filmed with Meta Glasses of vulnerable women being harassed made him "angry and upset"
The fear of being recorded without your knowledge is no longer confined to CCTV and snide cameras. It can now sit quietly on the face of the person next to you on the train, across the street or stood next to you in a shop.
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That is the concern behind Nearby Glasses, an app created by Dr Yves Jeanrenaud, a sociologist and Professor of Gender and Diversity in Engineering and Computer Science at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences.
He designed and built the app to alert people when potentially recording-enabled smart glasses are nearby.
The rise of high-tech specs have had a mixed reception despite a host of big names, including Kylie Jenner and BLACKPINK’s Jennie, promoting them.
The devices - which have earned the online nickname ‘pervert glasses’ - have sparked fears about surveillance and put the conversation about rights to privacy back in the public eye.
For someone whose academic work examines gender, diversity and technology - and how these often intersect - the implications were difficult to ignore.
This is what inspired Dr Jeanrenaud to launch the app, which works by scanning for nearby Bluetooth signals associated with compatible wearable technology.
When it detects a device, a canary icon will cover its face. The canary in the app refers to the idea of the warrant canary or the canary in the coal mine, signifying the absence of circumstances that might worry you. When the canary leaves or changes, circumstances have changed.
Read more: Wetherspoons bans Meta Glasses in pubs amid privacy concerns
Dr Jeanrenaud felt compelled to act after being particularly disturbed by videos filmed using the devices in immigration raids and to harass and embarrass people working at massage parlours.
The later footage was then used by individuals to promote adult sites such as OnlyFans.
“I was upset and angry,” he told LBC and continued the problem was not simply that people could be recorded, but that they may have no idea it is happening.
“In my opinion, as soon as someone is not aware they’re being recorded that is not okay; however, in terms of the law, it might be still perfectly legal in many countries.”
The 'canary in the coal mine' is an intervention to what Dr Jeanrenaud sees as a much larger social problem.
He fears that the impact of this technology could be particularly severe for people who are already vulnerable.
“There is no doubt this kind of tech will affect vulnerable groups,” he said.
Women and children are among those he believes could be especially exposed to the risks of covert recording and the circulation of material online.
“The impact from this kind of tech is more severe than we possibly imagine,” he warned.
“Obviously, people will and have always said negative things but this is now amplified by big tech,” he said.
That amplification - which he believes could lead to climate of even more paranoia and distrust - is central to his concern.
A private act can become public content in seconds. Something recorded without someone's knowledge can potentially reach thousands if not millions.
Once online, the subject may have little to no control over what happens next.
“This kind of technology drives us apart,” Dr Jeanrenaud said. "It separates us from each other by this very distrust amplified with such technology.”
He argues that a society in which people constantly have to wonder whether they are being recorded is not conducive to authenticity and could leave people suspicious and withdrawn.
Yet he is careful not to portray himself as an activist leading a crusade against smart glasses. “I'm not a campaigner,” he admitted, instead describing Nearby Glasses as a "niche side project”.
Dr Jeanrenaud is a sociologist, "I look at society,” he said, “ and the implications for how these device may affect behaviour are obvious”. He worries that this could gradually “normalise” a society where everything we do is recorded.
“Studies have shown that if you are being recorded, it changes behaviour, it changes the way you act and think" he said.
The possibility of surveillance, he believes, can make people behave differently even when they have done nothing wrong. That fear is compounded by the way provocative content performs on social media platforms driven by views and engagement.
“This kind of content - which is designed to embarrass or offend - is likely being rewarded by the algorithm,” Dr Jeanrenaud said.
He described the filming of unsuspecting people as a form of exploitation and believes that this can damage something deeper than individual privacy.
Privacy, in Dr Jeanrenaud's view, should not depend on whether a government, platform, technology company or their users decide people deserve it.
For him, privacy is not simply a question of having something to hide.
“It’s important to have your right to privacy, independent from authorities, the state and technology companies,” he said.
“But it’s about individuals also misusing them. First things first, I would love to see a stopping of mainly men exploiting usually women and girls by secretly recording them."
Nearby Glasses, available for free and open source on Android and iOS, cannot tell a person whether they are actually being filmed. It cannot prevent someone from recording them and it cannot solve the wider questions surrounding surveillance and the meteoric rise artificial intelligence.
But, what it can do is give people a warning about smart glasses around them so they may decide how to react.
In an increasingly watched world, this gives possible victims something increasingly valuable: agency.
Because perhaps the most unsettling thing about smart glasses is not simply that they can record us. It is that we may never know when they are.
On harrassment, a Meta spokesperson said: “Harassing content doesn't belong on our platforms.
"We're cracking down by removing it, taking action on the accounts behind it, and continuing to refine and evolve our enforcement efforts to stay ahead of anyone who violates our policies."
On privacy, the spokesperson added: "People use our glasses because they're genuinely helpful – from listening to music, to live translation or hands-free calls. For those wearing them and the people around them, trust matters.
"That's why we built privacy into our AI glasses from the ground up.
"For example, every pair has a capture LED that blinks when you take a photo or video that you can save or share, it can't be turned off, and if someone covers or damages the LED, the camera is disabled.”
Meta has also announced they will remotely disable cameras that we believe have been tampered with.
The company has also donated 15,000 free Ray-Ban Meta glasses to Vision Ireland – enough for every blind and visually impaired adult the charity supports.
LBC also reached out to OnlyFans for comment.