this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
329 points (99.7% liked)

Technology

2575 readers
207 users here now

Tech related news and discussion. Link to anything, it doesn't need to be a news article.

Let's keep the politics and business side of things to a minimum.

Rules

No memes

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Lawmakers are once again turning up the legal heat on smart glasses. Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery) has introduced a bill that would require every pair of smart glasses “manufactured, sold, and used” in the state to have a “visual indicator” that tells others when they’re recording.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] sidebro@lemmy.zip 71 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Again, if they are "smart", they can be hacked. That light can be disabled, and even covered.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

there's a booming industry already growing to mod them so no indicator shows. https://leafandcore.com/2025/10/25/meta-glasses-creep-mod-gaining-attention/

thousands.

fucking creeeps

[–] homes@piefed.world 18 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (8 children)

Not if the power to the recording mechanism must run through the light. There is an electrically engineered way to make sure the light must be powered on before the recording mechanism if it is wired between the power supply and the electronics.

Nothing to hack. Just a wire/circuit and an LED.

That’s how the iSight camera in all MacBooks work. That camera cannot be powered on without first powering on the notification LED. It’s integrated into the circuit. Powering on the camera must first power on the LED, and there is no way around that. It’s physically impossible.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 25 points 3 days ago (2 children)

and there is no way around that. It’s physically impossible.

[–] homes@piefed.world 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

As fun as both of those things can be, both together or separately, I wasn’t talking about blocking the camera, but, rather, accessing it illicitly

Thanks for the 90s flashback, though ;)

[–] apotheotic@beehaw.org 7 points 2 days ago

They mean you can block the recording light

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You block the LED. Sharpie also works.

Black nail polish is still a thing in 2026.

[–] DoucheBagMcSwag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If this is law they need to make meta develop technology that doesn't allow record If the light is blocked. They can make it happen.

[–] LiveLM@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The current iteration of the glasses already does this. It was bypassed days after release.

Ah fuck me they're fast

[–] zwerg@feddit.org 21 points 3 days ago (6 children)

You can still cover the LED. I don't trust these things or the creeps that buy them. They should be illegal.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Although black nail polish does still exist.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] Pieisawesome@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Just cut the wire and run a new one past the light directly to the camera.

The user owns this device and can make physical alterations.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] meowcar42O@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 days ago

the thing with the macbook is, that the user does not want to be recorded secretly. with meta glasses, the wearer is the recorder.

[–] sik0fewl@piefed.ca 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

You can hack it by rewiring it.

[–] homes@piefed.world -1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

How can you do that with malware?

[–] sik0fewl@piefed.ca 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I don’t think malware is the concern (although it is a concern).

The main concern spying on people in public. The light is not to inform you that it’s recording — it’s to inform others. But if it you can just rewire it or paint over it, then it doesn’t really help the technology protect other’s privacy.

[–] homes@piefed.world 0 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Right, but rewiring the microcircuitry in your sunglasses isn’t some afternoon affair, and, no matter your painting skills, painting over the light will be noticeable to some degree. Not only are the technical skills for both extraordinarily rare (especially to do properly), for someone to actually try is equally rare. Perhaps moreso.

Whi, you and I can argue back-and-forth about theoretical possibilities, the practical reality is that it’s so profoundly unlikely to ever happen, that it isn’t a reasonable thing to be concerned about. At least not right now.

[–] PyroNeurosis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It could still be 'hacked' in the truest sense of the term. Just on a hardware level instead of pure software. How hard some people will work to be surreptitious creeps should never be underestimated.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

And existing recording devices with recording indicators can be modified too...this isn't about covering every single edge case, this is about covering the bulk and making the rest actionable.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I disagree, these devices represent a new problem that go pros and other existing devices (phones) don't - they're pseudo-anonymous if you don't know what to look for specifically on the eyewear, and are modded by creeps to prevent even that indicator - https://leafandcore.com/2025/10/25/meta-glasses-creep-mod-gaining-attention/

these assholes want to creep film everywhere and say "oh no they're just sunglasses" or "oh no it's not recording now" then upskirting and downshirting innocent bystanders.

fucking gross, and not the same as other existing devices where you'd have to hold it somewhere to get the shot.

"oh but what about button spy cameras and-"

fuck that shit, it was old school shitty lenses and terrible sensors, not high resolution eye-spy-specs from a company already proven multiple times to be happy to invade people's privacy.

[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You don't think that this is about making it actionable...or? Not sure what part of what I wrote you're disagreeing with.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And existing recording devices with recording indicators can be modified too…this isn’t about covering every single edge case, this is about covering the bulk and making the rest actionable.

so fucking what? just because older devices can be used by the creeps, why create new, more capable creeping devices for the creeps?

[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You think I'm advocating for more creeper devices with that statement?

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I keep seeing 'but what about X' in these comments and refuse to equivocate these devices. Clarify your statement if you mean otherwise.

[–] deltapi@lemmy.world 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Not my job to police your assumptions.

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 0 points 22 hours ago

yeah why would anything you write make sense? fucking hell, you probably are a creep

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago

So make that illegal. It's a start.

[–] __Lost__@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Sure it can. Murder is illegal, but i can still buy a gun and shoot someone. If you hack your glasses to not comply with this law, you will get whatever punishment the law prescribes.

[–] Beehaw_Girl@beehaw.org 1 points 2 days ago

There have been a lot of unsolved murders over the years. Just sayin'.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

a little nail polish.