ZuckOff: The app taking on camera glasses

What if someone is secretly recording you with a pair of smart glasses? The footage could even end up online without you knowing. Enschede-based software developer Pawel Szydlowski came up with a solution: ZuckOff. The app alerts users when smart glasses are detected nearby.

The idea is catching on. ZuckOff has now been downloaded nearly 100,000 times, according to Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD). With the app, Szydlowski is tapping into growing concerns about privacy and the rise of smart glasses, which are increasingly criticised for their potential to record people without their knowledge.

Bluetooth signals

ZuckOff was prompted by Szydlowski’s concerns about the privacy risks posed by smart glasses. He built the app in about a week. He had recently worked on another project that could detect Bluetooth devices nearby. After seeing videos of people being secretly recorded with smart glasses, he decided to put that technology to a different use.

ZuckOff scans nearby Bluetooth signals and compares them with a database of unique identifiers associated with smart glasses. This allows the app to recognise, among others, Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses. Based on the strength of the signal, the app estimates how close a pair of glasses is. The glasses do not even need to be actively in use.

For example, users receive an alert when a pair of glasses is within arm’s reach or in the same room. The app cannot determine whether someone is actually recording, but it does warn users that camera-equipped glasses may be nearby.

Raising awareness

Szydlowski says his main goal is to raise awareness, as he explains in an interview with Ars Technica. In his view, people only become aware of the risks once a problem has already grown. He compares this to the social problems that emerged after the introduction of Apple AirTags, the small tracking devices that have also been used for stalking.

However, Szydlowski is not entirely opposed to the technology behind smart glasses. He even acknowledges that Meta is taking steps to improve privacy. He believes, though, that manufacturers should take greater responsibility. One proposal he has put forward is to require manufacturers to broadcast a recognisable Bluetooth signal whenever someone is recording with smart glasses. Other devices could then automatically alert users.

Opposition to camera glasses

Opposition to camera glasses is also growing beyond the app world. Dutch foundation Offlimits wants to use summary proceedings to halt the sale of Meta’s glasses in the Netherlands. Retailers such as Hans Anders and Wehkamp have already suspended sales.