Tech company Meta’s £359 glasses allows the wearer to record what they see using cameras without the knowledge of those around them
Spy glasses have been banned from restaurants, pubs and theatres over privacy fears. Tech company Meta’s £359 glasses allows the wearer to record what they see using cameras without the knowledge of those around them.
But now UK venues, including popular pub chain Wetherspoons, have banned them to protect the privacy of customers and staff.
Wetherspoons founder Tim Martin said: “The general code that applies in our pubs, and most pubs, is that you can’t film customers or employees without their permission.
“Meta glasses seem to breach this code, and common sense, by enabling surreptitious surveillance, so our instinct is to say turn off the cameras. This is akin to our efforts to stop audible playing of videos in our pubs, which also invades people’s space.”
Celebrated restaurateur Jeremy King is also among those insisting that guests should not wear the recording glasses.
He said: “I would never knowingly allow any invasion of guest privacy other than with the eyes we were born with.”
And a spokesperson for Soho House’s private members’ clubs has said that the glasses are not allowed as they come under its no recording policy.
Theatres also operate a no recording policy and so the glasses, which resemble normal eyewear with tiny cameras embedded, would be prohibited.
ATG Theatres, which owns the Bristol Hippodrome, Edinburgh Playhouse and various London theatres, said those wearing the glasses during shows will be asked to remove them.
A Meta spokesperson said: “People use our glasses because they’re genuinely helpful – from listening to music, to live translation or hands-free calls.
“For those wearing them and the people around them, trust matters. That’s why we built privacy into our AI glasses from the ground up.
“For example, every pair has a capture LED that blinks when you take a photo or video that you can save or share, it can’t be turned off. And if someone covers or damages the LED, the camera is disabled.”