Shubnam was packing boxes for a move when a friend sent them an Instagram video.
The footage, recorded months earlier at a Delhi protest, had only recently been posted online.
Smart glasses are among the fastest-growing segments of India’s wearables market, according to the International Data Corporation.
What Shubnam did not know was that the interaction had been recorded using Meta smart glasses designed to look like ordinary Wayfarers. The footage was later edited into a mocking reel that racked up millions of views. It was reposted across Instagram, X and YouTube, accompanied by transphobic abuse, reaction videos and AI-generated memes. The incident highlights that cameras in smart glasses can be difficult for people nearby to identify. This could become a bigger problem as the devices become more common, particularly in India, where covert recording and the non-consensual circulation of images are already major concerns. Cases involving cyberstalking, sextortion, deepfakes and other forms of online abuse have also been growing. “Every pair has a capture LED that blinks when you take a photo or video that you can save or share; it can’t be turned off, and if someone covers or damages the LED, the camera is disabled. However, tutorials have appeared showing ways to obscure the recording light while continuing to film. The privacy debate could become more complicated as glasses gain AI capabilities.
The video showed Shubnam, a 38-year-old transfeminine graphic designer and educator, being approached by a content creator known for rage-bait videos.
Wearing a green sari, Shubnam was asked why they were dressed in “female clothing”. They told him to back off, according to a report by MIT Technology Review . “For a moment, it felt like this entire adult life I had lived was just a long lucid dream, and I was going to wake up as that clueless queer child again,” Shubnam told MIT Technology Review . They said they have not worn a sari outside their neighbourhood since. Smart glasses are among the fastest-growing segments of India’s wearables market, according to the International Data Corporation. Meta told MIT Technology Review that its glasses have a built-in safeguard. Some Meta prototypes are being developed with features that can continuously capture audio and visual information, allowing the glasses to later recall what the wearer saw or heard, according to the Financial Times . Meta has said it plans to retain the LED for active photo and video capture, but not necessarily for AI functions that interpret the wearer’s surroundings.
Meta Platforms is expected to unveil new smart glasses at its annual Connect conference on Wednesday, including a pair without cameras, amid growing privacy concerns about AI devices that can be used to record people without their consent.
