App Spots Nearby Meta Smart Glasses
A Polish developer has created an app that detects nearby camera-equipped smart glasses, giving people a chance to protect their privacy by checking whether they might be filmed without their knowledge.
Why Was The App Created?
Paweł Szydłowski developed the app named ‘Zuckoff’ after becoming concerned about videos showing people recording strangers with smart glasses, including encounters where those being filmed did not appear to realise a camera was involved.
Unlike someone holding up a phone, a person wearing camera glasses may give little indication that they are taking pictures or recording a conversation. That makes it harder for people nearby to recognise what is happening and decide whether to raise an objection.
Reporting in September put the app’s audience at around 5,000 users following its August launch. That suggests interest in tools that give bystanders more awareness, although it does not establish how reliably the app performs across different devices and settings.
How Does Zuckoff Work?
Zuckoff listens for Bluetooth signals that devices broadcast to make themselves discoverable. It compares details within those signals, such as manufacturer identifiers and advertised services, with patterns associated with known camera glasses.
Its supported devices include Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta and Snap Spectacles. Rather than simply displaying an unexplained warning, the app shows which information triggered a match and rates its confidence as possible, likely or strong.
This gives users some basis for judging an alert before acting on it. The app’s description says it shows “the evidence behind every flag”, recognising that a signal match needs interpretation rather than automatically proving that a particular person is carrying a camera.
The app also uses signal strength to estimate proximity. Although this can suggest whether a device is relatively close, it doesn’t provide a reliable direction or pinpoint the wearer across a crowded room. In other words, it can just tell the user that Meta smart glasses are being used nearby, but not who is using them or where they are.
Doesn’t Reveal What The Glasses Are Doing
The most important limitation to note here is that detecting glasses doesn’t reveal what they are doing. For example, someone could be listening to music, using an accessibility feature or simply wearing them without taking any pictures.
Equally, Bluetooth detection depends on a device broadcasting information the app recognises. Some glasses may become harder to detect once connected to their owner’s phone, and unfamiliar hardware may not match the app’s existing detection rules.
As the developer’s website puts it, “Silence is therefore not proof that nobody is recording, and a detection is not proof that anyone is.” An alert can therefore give someone a reason to check their surroundings or ask whether nearby glasses are recording, but it can’t actually identify the wearer or confirm that filming is taking place, just as receiving no alert can’t guarantee that a room is free of cameras.
What Does The App Cost?
The UK App Store listing makes basic scanning available free, with paid Pro features including background monitoring, notifications and longer sighting history. It requires iOS 18 or later.
The developer says the app works without an account, server or analytics, and that its logs remain on the phone unless exported. However, it records other Bluetooth devices it encounters as well as potential glasses, so users should understand what their local history contains.
Apple notes that it has not verified the developer’s privacy information, so claims about how the app handles data shouldn’t be taken as confirmation that Apple has independently checked its security.
How Is Meta Addressing Privacy?
Meta says its glasses have a white light that flashes when the wearer takes a photo or records a video for their gallery, giving people nearby a visible indication that the camera is being used. To prevent wearers from hiding that warning, its published guidance states that “covering or disabling this capture LED automatically disables the camera”.
The light can indicate recording in a way that a Bluetooth alert can’t, although it only actually helps if people notice it and understand what it means. Even then, knowing that a camera is recording doesn’t necessarily mean those being filmed are comfortable with it, particularly during a private conversation or in a sensitive workplace setting.
However, the glasses also support activities such as listening to music, making hands-free calls and using AI assistance, so someone wearing them may have no intention of filming. For organisations concerned about privacy, that makes it useful to explain when and where recording is restricted, while recognising that the devices have other legitimate uses.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
For businesses, Zuckoff highlights why recording policies may need to cover more than mobile phones, particularly in confidential meetings, customer consultations and areas where sensitive information is visible. As cameras become harder to distinguish from ordinary eyewear, staff and visitors need to understand which restrictions apply without having to recognise every device themselves.
A detection app could help draw attention to nearby camera glasses, but it can’t establish whether someone is recording, so staff need a clear process for responding to an alert or a colleague’s concern. That might involve explaining the recording policy and asking the wearer to put the glasses away in a restricted area, without treating the alert itself as evidence of misconduct.
Those conversations should also allow for legitimate uses, including accessibility support, so any policy needs to explain why restrictions are necessary and how exceptions can be considered. Clear rules give staff a fair and consistent basis for handling concerns, while helping wearers understand what is expected before a misunderstanding develops.
The app’s practical value is therefore in giving people an opportunity to raise a privacy concern that might otherwise go unnoticed. Businesses can make that awareness useful by deciding in advance how to handle it, rather than leaving employees to negotiate sensitive situations for themselves.
