First look: Silicon-based lenses may be the latest front in the privacy wars. As companies race to build smarter eyewear capable of facial recognition and real-time AI analysis, one independent developer has built something far simpler – an app designed to spot when those devices are nearby.
The Android app, Nearby Glasses, comes from Swiss sociologist and hobbyist coder Yves Jeanrenaud. It scans for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) activity associated with manufacturers such as Meta, Luxottica Group, and Snap – companies behind the most recognizable smart glasses on the market – and issues an alert if it detects one of their devices nearby.
Jeanrenaud describes the tool as a "tiny part of resistance against surveillance tech." The concept is plain: turn the same short-range connectivity that powers most wearables into a warning signal. When activated, the app listens for Bluetooth "advertising frames," the packets of metadata every low-energy device emits to identify itself and interact with nearby hardware.
If it detects frames registered to Meta or its partner Luxottica, the user receives a push notification reading, "Smart Glasses are probably nearby."
BLE identifiers are publicly assigned by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and cataloged in directories available to developers. By referencing those databases, Jeanrenaud configured Nearby Glasses to recognize common manufacturer IDs associated with consumer eyewear, including Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses and Snap's Spectacles line.
The app currently misidentifies some devices – virtual reality headsets, for example, which share manufacturer codes or similar broadcast structures – but Jeanrenaud sees that as a manageable flaw. "It's still imperfect," he told 404 Media. Early tests conducted by the publication confirmed both the potential and the limits of the system. In one case, the app detected a Meta Quest 2 headset and notified users that smart glasses were nearby.
Nearby Glasses emerged from a growing backlash against wearable cameras that blend into everyday appearance. When Google Glass reached consumers a decade ago, its design drew immediate hostility: users were frequently harassed in public, and the device was easy to recognize and reject.
Meta's latest Ray-Ban models reverse that dynamic. Outwardly indistinguishable from ordinary eyewear, they now include AI-driven features that blur social boundaries around visibility and consent.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Meta has developed "Name Tag," an experimental feature allowing Ray-Ban wearers to identify people through facial recognition linked to Meta's AI assistant. The company has not publicly confirmed when or if the feature will launch.
Even before such tools arrive, journalists have documented repeated misuse of the glasses for covert recording and harassment. In one case, men were filmed using them inside massage parlors; in another, US Customs and Border Protection officers were seen wearing them during immigration raids.
"Obviously, surveillance tech is not only abused by government thugs, it's also a tech boosting misogynist behavior and rape culture," Jeanrenaud said. His comment reflects broader worries that ordinary users – not just corporations or state agencies – now have access to inconspicuous recording hardware enhanced by AI.
To get the app, download it from the Google Play Store or GitHub, enable foreground scanning, press Start, and read the debug log. When a warning appears, the Play Store description says users "may act accordingly." Jeanrenaud acknowledged that it could mean anything from leaving the area to confronting the wearer. "Or people just tell them politely to f**k off," he said.
New Android app alerts you when someone nearby is wearing smart glasses
