This App Warns You When Smart Glasses Are Nearby

Bluetooth detection for Meta Ray-Bans, Snap Spectacles, and other camera-equipped wearables.

Surveillance cameras on a wall representing smart glasses detection and privacy

TL;DR: A new Android app called Nearby Glasses scans for Meta Ray-Bans, Snap Spectacles, and other camera-equipped smart glasses using Bluetooth. When it detects one nearby, you get a push notification. It's free, open-source, collects zero data, and works by reading the mandatory manufacturer IDs that every Bluetooth device broadcasts. False positives happen (Meta VR headsets will trigger it too), but it's a start.

What It Does

Yves Jeanrenaud built Nearby Glasses after reading about people getting filmed without consent by Meta Ray-Ban wearers. His solution: use those glasses' own Bluetooth signals against them.

Every Bluetooth Low Energy device broadcasts advertising packets containing a company ID. These IDs are assigned by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and are mandatory, standardized, and impossible to spoof without breaking Bluetooth compliance.[1]

The app monitors four specific company IDs:

  • 0x01AB and 0x058E: Meta Platforms
  • 0x0D53: Luxottica (makes Meta Ray-Bans)
  • 0x03C2: Snap (Spectacles)

When your phone picks up one of these signals, you get a push notification. Someone within Bluetooth range (roughly 30 feet) is wearing smart glasses.

Why It Matters

Last year, two Harvard students demonstrated what smart glasses can actually do. They paired Meta Ray-Bans with facial recognition software and identified strangers in real time, pulling up names, addresses, and phone numbers just by looking at someone.[2]

Meta is building this capability directly into the glasses. Their upcoming "Name Tag" feature will use AI to identify people you meet and surface information about them.[3]

This isn't paranoia. The glasses have cameras. They're recording. And now they're getting facial recognition. Knowing when a pair is pointed at you isn't unreasonable. It's basic situational awareness.

As Jeanrenaud put it: "I consider it to be a tiny part of resistance against surveillance tech."[4]

The Limitations

Let's be clear about what this can't do:

  • False positives: Meta Quest VR headsets broadcast the same manufacturer IDs. If someone walks by wearing a Quest, you'll get an alert.
  • Signal blocking: Human bodies and walls absorb Bluetooth signals. Detection isn't guaranteed, especially in crowded spaces.
  • Android only: Apple's privacy restrictions prevent background Bluetooth scanning. No iOS version exists, and one may never be possible.
  • Not comprehensive: Other camera-equipped wearables (Ray-Ban Stories, Amazon Echo Frames) might use different manufacturer IDs. You can add custom IDs in settings, but you need to know them first.

The app includes a 10-second cooldown between notifications so you don't get spammed when someone lingers nearby.

No Data Collection

Unlike most apps warning you about privacy threats, this one doesn't create new ones:

  • Zero data collection
  • No telemetry
  • No ads
  • Open-source code on GitHub

An optional scan log stores BLE manufacturer codes locally on your device. Nothing transmits anywhere. You can verify this yourself: the code is written in Kotlin and available for review.[5]

Where to Get It

Google Play Store

Search "Nearby Glasses" in the Play Store. Free download, no in-app purchases.

GitHub

Download the APK directly or build from source. Search "Nearby Glasses" on GitHub for the repository.

After installation, grant Bluetooth permissions and enable notifications. The app runs in the background, scanning periodically and alerting when it finds a match.

The Bigger Picture

Detection apps like this are a stopgap, not a solution. They exist because:

  • Smart glasses with cameras are legal to wear anywhere
  • No law requires recording indicators (though some states have consent laws)
  • Meta is actively building facial recognition into consumer hardware
  • Recording someone without consent is often hard to prove

Some retailers have started banning smart glasses outright. But in public spaces, you're on your own.

Nearby Glasses gives you one small tool: awareness. When someone's camera-equipped glasses are nearby, at least you'll know.

References

  1. Help Net Security - Android app uses Bluetooth signals to detect nearby smart glasses (February 2026)
  2. 404 Media - Harvard Students Demonstrate Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Can Be Used to Dox Strangers
  3. The Verge - Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses Are Getting AI That Identifies People
  4. 404 Media - This App Warns You if Someone Is Wearing Smart Glasses Nearby (March 2026)
  5. GitHub - Nearby Glasses Source Code