Dear all. We have written a letter below this short message, that you are welcome to copy/adapt and send to your local leisure centre/gym/swimming pool etc.
We at Set@16 are dismayed by the aggressive pushing of so called ‘smartglasses’ into our societies. With Meta at the vanguard and Samsung and Apple (and others!) set to follow, we need to fight back.
One way is to write to an organisation that you are a member of, asking when they will ban them. One of the more urgent places we can think of are gyms/ leisure centres etc. It is obvious to us that smartglasses are utterly inappropriate in such settings.
Guy is sending the below to the local leisure centre that he and his children attend. Please do likewise. We would love it if you would add in the comments, who you sent it to and and how they respond. Let’s turn this into a campaign that cannot be ignored!
Image: https://pixabay.com
Dear …………….
I am writing to ask when you will update your membership policy to ban the wearing of ‘smartglasses’ on your premises.
There are various definitions of what is meant by smartglasses. Broadly, they are computers that are contained within eyewear. For the purposes of this letter, I will define them as ‘wearable computers in eyewear that include recording capability, both audio and visual, via microphones and videocameras’. The most (in)famous current example is made by Meta (a company recently found guilty in two American courts of harming children), but others are apparently coming to market, such as from Samsung and Apple.
The reasons such devices should be banned from your premises are:
1 - They can be used to record people without their consent, far more easily than with a smartphone, as they do not have to be held up and directed at the person. This increases the possibility of women and children being videoed, whilst using the gym or swimming pool, for example, without their knowledge.
2 - They are often connected to the internet. This would allow someone to livestream images of people to websites and social media platforms, for example. Therefore, there is a real potential for harm, where images and videos are not just held on the individual’s device, but are literally being shared to the world, live.
3 - These devices often have AI capabilities. This means that imagery can be used to attempt to find the identities of people on your premises. This is known as ‘doxing’, when someone’s personal information, such as their name, address and so on, can be found and shared publicly. Again, this could happen in real time, greatly increasing the threat of harassment and stalking.
4 - AI capabilities allow the creation of so called ‘deepfakes’. This means that the wearer of the device can capture images or video of other club members and use these to create offensive or pornographic images of these members. Again, women and children are most likely to be victims of such behaviour.
There are more reasons why you should immediately ban these devices from premises, but the above are, I very much hope, sufficient. I have included some news articles below that demonstrate the terrible actions are already happening. It is therefore imperative that you act as soon as possible, to ensure that members are safeguarded. And I haven’t even mentioned the changing rooms….
I do anticipate two objections. One is that the glasses emit a light that lets people know the glasses are recording. This is highly problematic for a number of reasons. First, it puts the onus on the person being recorded to spot that this is happening and to challenge the person. Second, the light may not be seen from distance. Third, crucially, the light can be covered by a sticker. These are readily available on Amazon for as little as £3 for a pack (link below this letter).
The other is that those who are severely visually impaired may benefit from wearing ‘smartglasses’. If this is the case then I am sure an exception can be created, when medical proof is provided. Currently, approximately 0.5% of the UK population are visually impaired.
I appreciate that this may not be top of your in-tray right now, but it really needs to be, and I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.
Yours ……
Smartglasses used for sextortion:
https://www.ubergizmo.com/2026/05/can-smart-glasses-be-used-for-extortion/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01/09/man-smart-glasses-illegally-record-sex-spared-jail/
Smartglasses used for blackmail:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy87wqz0q9o
Stickers that block the recording light are widely and cheaply available:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/led-light-blocker/s?k=led+light+blocker
The current models are the ‘thin end of the wedge’, as more features are in the pipeline. You need to act now to get ahead of this: https://www.ft.com/content/ac282450-91a8-4597-8f60-9e6ef416865
Great, thanks so much Set@16!
It’s really helpful to have letters like this, thank you.