Privacy Hacks Are Becoming Deviously Creative

This post was co-written with Alison Fernandes, a researcher at the Department of Psychology at Monk Prayogshala.

Source: Kevin Ku/Unsplash

The very first Black Mirror (a dystopian sci-fi series) episode I stumbled upon in 2011 was "The Entire History of You" (S01E03). The premise was simple: through a chip in one’s brain, one could record and replay their memories—scenes they witnessed, conversations they had, and people they met. Fast forward to 2023, when Meta and Ray Ban have developed smart glasses that kind of do the same thing—with caveats, of course.

These glasses have several cool features like the ability to record audiovisuals or livestream from the glasses straight to Instagram and Facebook. Undoubtedly, they provide the opportunity for (largely) hands-free communication and documentation. The glasses are quite subtle compared to an obvious camera or phone pointed at you, and although they have a small LED light that turns on to indicate the glasses are recording, even this might go unnoticed if you’re not looking too closely. You do have to raise your hand to click a button to record or take a photo, but this can be easily mistaken for someone trying to fix their hair or the glasses themselves.

All this is to say that the glasses can be misused, just like any other technology.

The main issue raised by such well-concealed technology is that of recording others without their consent. People being recorded in public without getting their prior consent is already a burgeoning issue with a large percentage of content on sites such as TikTok and Instagram consisting of videos capturing moments of an individual’s life with them being unaware. Such devices could further exacerbate this issue and lead to serious privacy concerns in public spaces. A more insidious use of these glasses is unconsented recording of individuals in intimate or vulnerable moments such as during a medical procedure or during intercourse.

Source: Mika Baumeister/Unsplash

The glasses can also potentially turn into a cybersecurity risk with the possibility of hackers using them to collect sensitive information such as login information or access codes to buildings. There is and has been a creative arms race between technologically-savvy antisocial elements and law enforcement. Glasses like the Ray-Bans can become useful tools in the hands of creative miscreants; just as positive applications of such glasses are endless (recording one’s engagement proposal), the negative ones can be teeming as well (recording someone’s passwords to hack into their social media and wreak havoc there). Additionally, there’s the risk of data breaches where private information that is recorded by these glasses could be leaked.

In a world that is becoming more and more connected, it’s become a lot easier to dig up information on a person with just their name—it’s all a click away. Easily accessing personal information is alarming not only in the context of cybersecurity but also for individuals attempting to stay off the grid. It’s tough to fly under the radar with social media, whether it is for people escaping an abusive ex-partner or dodging a persistent stalker. And the Meta x Ray Ban glasses provide the opportunity to surreptitiously follow targets around, passively victimizing others and infiltrating their privacy. Similarly, they can be used to scope a potential target for a robbery, be it a house or a high-end store or even a museum exhibit.

If we were to analyze the effects of these smart glasses through the AMORAL model of dark creativity, we can see that privacy concerns are an immediate consequence. But what about the legacy that such technology will leave in its wake? In a scenario where it’s common for people to walk about wearing smart glasses, mistrust and paranoia might be at an all-time high. Considering the very real probability of the device having your personal information (passwords, private texts), it could lead to individuals avoiding their devices for fear of having their privacy breached. Constantly being aware of the risk of someone recording you in public could also result in self-censorship. Overall, it might lead to a change in how we interact in public spaces—and the impacts on anxiety, especially social anxiety, would deserve another post.

Due to the fast pace at which technology evolves, it’s a challenge for policymakers to catch up and come up with suitable laws and regulations to ensure the rights of individuals are protected. As such, regulatory frameworks for the use and misuse of these glasses need to be considered seriously to mitigate potential harm from technology.