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An app has been launched that detects whether people around you are using Meta and other types of smart glasses. Antizac Smart Glasses Scanner, Available for iPhone and designed by Albert Parent Cohen, detects nearby Bluetooth signals to match Meta Glasses, Snap Spectacles, Meta Quest headsets, RayNeo smart glasses and other devices; Then, it tells you which gadget is nearby and whether it has been discovered before. In keeping with the “privacy” focus, Antizuck does not require an account or email address, nor does it send any data outside of your phone. It retails for $2.99 with no subscription.
What devices can Antizak app recognize?
In my testing, Antizk successfully recognized both my Meta glasses and my Quest 3 headset. It actually called my Quest 3 (name and distance) when the headset was in sleep mode. Meta glasses, however, were not so easily discovered. While it detected my glasses, it only “saw” them when I turned them off and on: Antizuck only detects Metaglasses that are charging, powered on, or actively paired.
The app can also tell you everything other Bluetooth devices advertise around you, and recognize what they are if possible. Interestingly, it recognized my Charging Even Realities G2 smart glasses, but didn’t flag them, I guess because they don’t have a camera. Still, seeing how many devices are broadcasting around you is worth the $3 price of admission.
How useful are these glasses for seeing if someone is recording you?
It’s clear from the app’s “glasses spotted” warning of “someone may be recording near you” that it’s meant to let you know if someone’s creeping nearby, but it’s only marginally useful for that purpose. They don’t tell you which passers-by are wearing meta glasses. They don’t alert you when a close pair of glasses starts recording or takes a picture, or when a close pair of Meta glasses is transferring media from the glasses to the phone. If someone turns on their glasses near you or charges them for three minutes or more, you’ll get a ping and record whether you’ve found the same pair of glasses in the past. But most people don’t charge their glasses on a street corner or in a bar.
What do you think so far?
Utility aside, the app is clearly part of a growing backlash against people using camera-forward smart glasses, whether New York bans themT, or choir Lorde called them “not sexy.”.” I completely understand the concern of people, especially women, about being recorded by hidden spy glasses, but it’s not as one-sided an argument as it might initially appear. People with vision problems use Meta glasses to get verbal help from AI. Bird watchers use them to identify birds on the fly. I use my Meta glasses. Classify receipts for tax purposesListen to Hawkwind, and Take videos on bike rides occasionally. I don’t let strangers assume I’m a creep, or know I wear a certain brand of glasses. Just as it’s legal to take photos in public, it’s legal to scan your surroundings for Bluetooth signatures, but isn’t everything an invasion of privacy? As with anything, the only bad thing about a tool is how you use it.
