Kmart's $89 Camera Glasses Sell Out, Sparking 'Privacy Nightmare' Concerns

Kmart has sold out of Anko-branded $89 camera glasses across Australia, which a digital rights expert says presents a “privacy nightmare” as people face being filmed without their consent.

As of Monday, the clear-lens, black-rimmed glasses, which can capture images and record high-definition videos, were sold out at Kmart stores across Australia and online.

The price point at $89 is significantly cheaper than the Meta Ray-Bans that the Anko brand glasses are styled on, which sell from $337.

The Anko glasses run on HeyCyan software, which allows the wearer to play music, answer calls, use an AI assistant, and transfer photos and videos from the device.

The software is used in a range of low-budget camera glasses, from online retailers including Amazon and Temu. Reddit users report that the software is sluggish compared to the software in the Meta Ray-Bans.

Meta has faced significant pushback from privacy advocates since launching the glasses – which some people have dubbed “pervert glasses” – for their ability to record people in public.

Meta’s glasses have a light on to indicate the wearer is recording, but there have been reports of users covertly recording in public, and reports that moderators employed by Meta review intimate footage from the glasses, including of people using the toilet and having sex.

The company last month rolled out an update that disables the camera if the LED light is interfered with, and also reportedly began removing videos from its platform of wearers using the device to harass strangers in public.

New York courts, the US air force and a hacker convention have all reportedly banned people from wearing the glasses.

Meta has said it has sold more than 7m of its glasses worldwide, and has recruited celebrity Kylie Jenner for advertising to push the devices into the mainstream, but the Ray-Bans and the flood of cheap versions of the same technology have concerned privacy advocates.

“Smartglasses with cameras are a privacy nightmare that illustrate how Australian privacy laws haven’t kept up with technology changes,” said Tom Sulston, head of policy at Digital Rights Watch.

“We shouldn’t have elevated expectations of personal privacy when out in public, but we should have some.”

Sulston said it was particularly problematic when in the hands of misogynist social media influencers who use the glasses to make content “of them harassing women – typically in places where we have higher expectations of more sensitive use of video cameras, like the beach”.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said the privacy regulator was aware of the community concerns and was monitoring the rollout of the new technology.

“Organisations that collect, use or disclose personal information through products or services are subject to obligations under the act and the Australian Privacy Principles where the act applies,” the spokesperson said.

“People concerned about being photographed or recorded by another individual may also wish to seek independent legal advice about whether other commonwealth, state or territory laws may be relevant in the circumstances.”

A spokesperson for Kmart said the Anko glasses “are part of an established and increasingly mainstream category of wearable technology, with similar products available globally from major technology and eyewear brands”.

“As with any device capable of recording images, we expect customers to use the product responsibly, respectfully and in accordance with applicable laws and community expectations around privacy.”

Sulston said that due to the ongoing privacy issues, including how the collected data may be used by the companies producing the glasses, the social backlash would likely continue.

“The best way to lose friends and alienate people will be to be a public specs offender.”

One reviewer on TechRadar said of the Meta glasses this week that although it is his favourite tech of the year so far, he was afraid to wear them in public due to the growing backlash.

“I haven’t been worried about going around wearing my Meta Ray-Ban and Oakley specs in the past, but with growing public anger over the way smart specs are being misused, I have a genuine concern someone will see me wearing them and act violently towards me,” he said.