What are smart glasses and what do I need to know?

Smart glasses look much like ordinary glasses but have technology built into the frames. Depending on the model, they can include:

• Cameras for taking photos and videos
• Speakers for listening to music or podcasts
• Microphones for phone calls or voice commands
• Artificial intelligence (AI) that can answer questions or identify objects
• Internet connectivity through a smartphone

Some models are designed mainly for taking photos and videos, while others act more like wearable AI assistants.

Think of them as a smartphone that you wear rather than hold.

Smart glasses have existed for years, but recent advances in AI have made them much more capable.

Instead of simply taking photos, newer models can:

• Answer questions about what you're looking at.
• Translate languages in real time.
• Help with directions.
• Describe objects or read signs aloud.
• Search the internet using voice commands.

These features are exciting and useful for many people, but they have also raised questions about privacy, consent and creation of content.

Like pens, smartphones, cameras and AI tools, smart glasses can be used to create, edit or share content. The concern is less about the glasses themselves. It’s what someone chooses to do with the technology.

Under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993, content can be considered objectionable (illegal) if it promotes, supports or encourages serious harm, including things like sexual violence, child sexual exploitation, torture, extreme violence, or terrorism.

Possessing, making or sharing this type of content is not just harmful, it may also be illegal.

Smart glasses can be used to capture raw footage or images which can then be altered to create fake or harmful content. While the glasses can’t currently be used to edit content, the images or videos the smart glasses capture can be altered by a computer or smart phone afterwards.

Many smart glasses connect to the internet or work alongside smartphones and apps. This means they may provide another way to access online content, including content that could be harmful or illegal. The risks are similar to other connected devices. To keep ourselves safe it is important to understand what technology can do, set appropriate boundaries and talk openly about online experiences.

Many smart glasses can record photos or videos.

Most consumer models include a small light that turns on while recording, but people may not always notice it. Different models also work differently.

This means it's possible someone could use smart glasses to record another person, without that person noticing, just as someone could with a smartphone.

Existing laws apply to the use of recording devices and people should be aware of this when using them, especially for recording others. For more information check out the Office of the Privacy Commissioner's website on Recording People in Public Places.

Smart glasses are legal to own and use. However, how they are used matters. Existing laws around privacy, harassment, harmful digital communications and objectionable (illegal) content still apply.

Smart glasses are similar to smartphones and other recording devices. The technology itself is not illegal, but smart glasses could be used to do things that are illegal.

In New Zealand, it can be a crime to make, possess, or share an intimate visual recording of someone without their knowledge or consent. Under section 216G of the Crimes Act 1961, an intimate visual recording includes images or videos of a person in situations where they would reasonably expect privacy, including when they are nude, partly nude, engaged in sexual activity, or carrying out private activities such as showering, toileting, or changing clothes.

Some covertly filmed content may also be considered objectionable under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993. This can include content that significantly degrades, dehumanises, or demeans a person, depicts degrading sexual or physical conduct, or promotes or encourages criminal acts or serious harm. Sexual content involving children or young people may be classified as child sexual exploitation material (CSEM).

Not all secretly recorded content is illegal. However, when recordings are made or shared to sexually exploit, humiliate, threaten, or encourage harm towards someone, the consequences can be serious. It's a good opportunity to talk with tamariki and rangatahi about privacy, consent and respectful use of technology.

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (the Act) sets out the mandate for the Classification Office to classify publications as either objectionable (illegal), restricted (e.g. to a certain age or group), or unrestricted.

The Office can classify publications. This includes content that has been created using technology, rather than the technology itself. If the content meets the high legal threshold required by law, then the Office can classify it as objectionable.