A new app promises to alert users when someone nearby is wearing smart glasses equipped with cameras. As wearable recording devices become ubiquitous, privacy-conscious developers are building counter-surveillance tools—raising questions about an arms race nobody asked for.
We're building technology to detect technology that we built to record everything. This is not innovation—it's a Red Queen race where everyone runs faster just to stay in place.
The app, called Glassbreaker, uses Bluetooth and WiFi scanning to identify nearby smart glasses based on their wireless signatures. Meta Ray-Bans, Snap Spectacles, and other connected wearables all broadcast identifiable signals. Glassbreaker maintains a database of these signatures and alerts users when it detects them within range.
The developer, privacy researcher Alex Martínez, describes it as "defensive surveillance." The app doesn't record anything or identify who's wearing the glasses—it just tells you they're present. The logic is: if someone can record you without consent, you should at least know about it.
On its face, this seems reasonable. But let's think through the implications.
First, the detection creates a new privacy violation. Smart glasses broadcast identifiers that can be tracked. Glassbreaker enables anyone to monitor who's wearing recording devices, creating detailed maps of their movements and habits. The tool meant to protect privacy becomes a surveillance mechanism itself.
Second, it escalates the arms race. Smart glasses manufacturers will respond by obscuring their wireless signatures. Detection apps will adapt. Manufacturers will adapt again. We end up with an escalating cat-and-mouse game where both sides invest resources in countering each other while the fundamental problem—unconsented recording in public spaces—remains unsolved.
Third, it puts the burden on individuals to protect themselves from technology companies' design choices. Meta decided to build recording glasses that look like normal eyewear. Users who don't want to be recorded must now run detection apps, avoid certain spaces, and constantly monitor their environment. The externalized cost of surveillance falls on those trying to avoid it.
This pattern repeats across technology. Ad blockers vs ad networks. VPNs vs surveillance. Encrypted messaging vs backdoor mandates. Every privacy-violating technology spawns defensive countermeasures, creating exhausting escalation spirals.
Martínez acknowledges the paradox: "I built this because current norms around recording consent are breaking down. But I know detection tools aren't a real solution. They're a band-aid on a problem that requires policy changes and social norms enforcement."
So what's the alternative?
Some jurisdictions are considering regulations that require recording indicators on wearable devices—like the LED on laptop cameras but larger and impossible to disable. Others are exploring opt-in recording zones where cameras are allowed and clear signage warns visitors.
These approaches have problems too. Mandatory indicators reduce device aesthetics (which killed Google Glass). Opt-in zones create surveillance-free spaces but normalize recording everywhere else. No solution is clean.
The deeper issue is that we're trying to solve social problems with technical patches. What we actually need are clear social norms around recording consent and consequences for violating them. That requires cultural agreement, legal frameworks, and willingness to prioritize privacy over convenience.
Instead we get Glassbreaker: a clever technical hack that highlights the problem while contributing to it.
Should you use the app? Maybe, if you're particularly concerned about being recorded without consent. But recognize that you're participating in an arms race that benefits nobody except the people selling countermeasures to problems that tech companies created.
The real question is whether we're okay with living in a world where constant surveillance is the default and opting out requires technical countermeasures, constant vigilance, and accepting reduced functionality.
Most people aren't being asked that question. They're just getting pushed into that world one product launch at a time.
Glassbreaker is available now for iOS and Android. Because in 2026, you need an app to know who's recording you.
