'People call them pervert glasses': Blind users fear backlash over smart tech
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Fraser Fleming says his glasses help him navigate public transport and read street signs Fraser Fleming approaches the corner of a busy Glasgow city centre street and asks his smart glasses to describe the road ahead.
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A voice coming from tiny speakers in the arms of the specs tells him there are several parked cars and a person walking in his direction.
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For 44-year-old Fraser, who is registered blind, this is "game changing" information.
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"I know how to approach the street and what sort of care to take," he says.
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"If I need to maybe take my time or if I can just walk at normal pace."
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Fraser, who began losing his sight in his early twenties, says his AI-powered Meta smart glasses have become part of his everyday life during the past two years.
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They help him to navigate public transport, read street signs and order from menus – but he's started to think twice about wearing them in public.
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"People are calling them pervert glasses," he says, referring to multiple reports of them being used to secretly film and harass people, particularly women and girls, with the footage being shared online.
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Fraser says this is having a negative effect on anyone wearing them, including visually-impaired people.
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"We are definitely not using them to record people in dodgy situations," he says.
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"We're using them to lead an independent life."
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They were labelled 'pervert glasses'.
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Will a camera-free version transform their image? The Meta glasses revolution - is it okay to film people in public?
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TikToker faces police probe over secret filming using 'smart glasses' Fraser, from Motherwell, told the BBC's Your Voice he would often take his glasses off if he thought there was a chance of a confrontation.
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"I've got enough to worry about getting from A to B," he says.
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"I'll just put the glasses away and have to rely on my other senses in order to navigate around, which is going to make life a lot more difficult for me."
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Tracey Rogerson says the technology is a big part of her independence Tracey Rogerson, who uses the technology to help with her sight loss, shares Fraser's concerns.
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"I was shocked to hear that they were being called pervert glasses because for me, they're such a big part of my life to help me maintain my independence," she says.
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Meta, the company that owns WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, started selling smart glasses in 2021, and has sold about two million pairs since February last year.
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It says there is a light on the frames which makes it clear the smart glasses are recording, but it also warns users not to engage in harmful activities.
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As a result of the backlash against the glasses, some venues and events have banned or at least restricted their use over fears about covert filming, including ComicCon Scotland, which takes place in Edinburgh later this month.
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This means Gordon Brown, who is severely sight-impaired and has attended the event with his family for the past three years, won't be going this year.
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He says the impact of the ban on people with disabilities has been overlooked.
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"Even if I was to put my glasses on quickly, just to read a sign or something, I wouldn't feel comfortable," says Gordon, from Inverkip.
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"I think it's a matter of principle now, the fact that they're not willing to engage, and they're not willing to listen to a minority group.
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"You know, we're not talking about thousands of people all of a sudden turning up wearing smart glasses."
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Monopoly Events, which runs some of the biggest comic and entertainment conventions in the UK, announced in July that it had banned Meta glasses to "stop secret filming" of guests and attendees.
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The ban applies to Meta glasses and other "wearable recording devices."
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The company was contacted by the BBC about Gordon's comments.
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Cosplay artist Spill The Tea says she was secretly filmed by someone wearing the glasses Cosplay artist Spill The Tea was at a comic convention in Birmingham earlier this year when she was secretly filmed.
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She later discovered the footage was posted online.
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The performer, who has 1.9 million followers on TikTok, says she felt "violated".
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"He was purposefully trying to provoke me or purposefully trying to make strange comments to get a reaction out of me so that he could get that perfect clip that he could post on social media and capitalise off it," says the London-based artist.
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She says her experience demonstrates why restrictions are needed, but she thinks there should be exceptions for people with disabilities.
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"For people who need the glasses and who really have to use them, I think they should be able to use them," she says.
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"They shouldn't have to deal with the fact there's been a certain group of people who have spoiled it for them."
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In a statement, Meta said: "We are proud that our AI glasses give blind, low-vision and hearing-impaired people greater independence in daily life.
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"They were built to be noticed, which is why every pair with a camera has a bright light on the front that blinks when you take a photo or video.
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"It cannot be turned off and the camera is disabled if someone covers or tampers with it."
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