In 43% of Cases, Viewers Revealed the Women's Personal Data, Including Their Location, Name, and Social Media Profiles in Australia

Meta's AI-powered smart glasses are making it easier for men to harass women and expose them online, according to a new study from the University of Sydney's Immersive Technologies Governance project in Australia. The research, which analyzed 350 videos recorded with the glasses between 2023 and 2026, found that roughly 60% of the clips constituted potential harassment, with women showing visible discomfort or trying to leave. In 43% of cases, viewers revealed the women's personal data, including their location, name, and social media profiles.

One viral TikTok video shows a woman eating alone at a US restaurant when a stranger sits across from her, saying "Sorry, I was late" as a pickup line. The man, who was recording with the glasses, is not visible in the footage. The women in the video received comments about their appearance and "lack of manners" on the platform.

Other clips show women being filmed without consent at work, in gyms, and in supermarkets. In one, women had to force a content creator out of an elevator. Most recordings are in English, though a few come from Brazil.

In one Brazilian example, a prankster films children whose faces and bodies are exposed despite the blur he applies, prompting their mothers to confront him. The study also found that 13% of the recordings focus on women's body parts, and about 14% show racialized women who receive racist comments about their bodies. The researchers argue the technology is advancing at a "dizzying pace" while regulators lag behind, unable to act after the damage is already done.

Meta said in a statement that people use the smart glasses for useful functions like listening to music, simultaneous translation, and hands-free calls, and that trust is considered from the product's conception. The first generation launched in the US in 2023; Brazil's Anatel authorized the second generation in September 2025 at around R$ 3,000. Brazilian feminist movements have joined American activists this year to warn about the dangers. In London, satirical ads have appeared at bus stops and subway stations, and the activist group "Everyone Hates Elon" is running a campaign against the device.

In Brazil, Girl Up, which brings together about 80 feminist collectives with roughly 800 girls, has begun mobilizing with digital rights organization Ctrl+Z. The activists cite a Brazilian case in Salvador, where a patient reported a gynecologist who wore the glasses during an appointment. The doctor was arrested but released after an investigation found no criminal conduct and confirmed he had not filmed the patient. The problem is that the product's architecture itself projects a world without the right to consent over the use of one's own image, said Daniela da Silva, former WhatsApp public policy manager in Brazil and co-founder of Ctrl+Z, adding that this disproportionately affects women and children.

The researchers argue the glasses enable first-person recordings without the deliberate gestures that signal camera use. Recording indicators like small white lights are discreet and easily hidden, creating a condition of structural non-consent. Meta has worked to block recording when users disable the white lights, but online forums still teach ways to bypass the restriction.

In July, Instagram announced it would remove videos of women filmed without consent, though such clips remain findable on the platform. In one video, women had to expel a content producer from an elevator. Most recordings are in English, with few in Brazil and spoken in Portuguese.

In one example in the country, a man who plays pranks for social media films children whose bodies and faces are exposed even with the blur he applies. The video shows mothers prohibiting the filming and arguing with the content producer. A study by the Immersive Technologies Governance project at the University of Sydney, in Australia, analyzed 350 records of this type from 2023 to 2026 and concluded that smart glasses, which film and record audio, facilitate harassment of women and their digital exposure.

Among the videos analyzed, about 60% were classified as potential harassment, with women showing visible discomfort or trying to leave. The article also found prolonged digital harm. In 43% of cases, women had their data revealed by the audience, including location, name, and social media profile.