Introducing Antizuck Smart Glasses Scanner
An innovative new app has been launched that detects whether the people around you are using Meta and other kinds of smart glasses. The Antizuck Smart Glasses Scanner, designed by Albert Pariente Cohen, is available for iPhone and can identify nearby Bluetooth signals that match Meta glasses, Snap Spectacles, Meta Quest headsets, RayNeo smart glasses, and other devices.
Once the app detects a nearby device, it informs the user what gadget is nearby and whether it’s been detected previously. In line with its focus on user privacy, Antizuck doesn’t require an account or email address, nor does it send any data outside of your phone. The app retails for $2.99 with no subscription.
Testing the Antizuck App
In testing the Antizuck app, it was found to successfully identify both Meta glasses and a Meta Quest 3 headset. The app even detected the Quest 3 while it was in sleep mode, displaying the device’s name and distance. However, the Meta glasses were not as easily detected, with the app only finding them when they were turned off and on. This is because Antizuck only detects Meta glasses that are charging, powering on, or actively pairing.
The app can also tell you all the other Bluetooth devices advertising around you, and it identifies what they are, if possible. Interestingly, it identified charging Even Realities G2 smart glasses, but didn’t flag them, likely because they don’t have a camera. Nevertheless, seeing how many devices are broadcasting around you is worth the $3 price of admission.
How Useful Are Smart Glasses in Spotting if Someone is Recording You?
It’s clear from the app’s ‘glasses spotted’ warning that the point is to let you know if a creep is creeping nearby. However, the app is only marginally useful for this purpose. It doesn’t show you an alert when a nearby pair of glasses starts recording or takes a picture, nor does it alert you when a nearby pair of Meta glasses is transferring media from the glasses to a phone. If someone turns on their glasses near you or charges them for three minutes or so, you’ll get a ping and a record of whether that same pair of glasses has been detected by you in the past.
Utility aside, the app is clearly part of the growing backlash against people using camera-forward smart glasses. This backlash is evident in New York banning them in court, and singer Lorde calling them ‘not sexy.’ The concern people, particularly women, have about being recorded by hidden spy glasses is understandable, but it’s not as one-sided an argument as it may appear at first.
People with vision problems use Meta glasses to get verbal help from the AI, while birdwatchers use them to identify birds on the fly. Others use them to categorize receipts for tax purposes, listen to music, or occasionally take videos on bike rides. The only thing evil about a tool is how you use it.
