Harvard Students Demonstrate Privacy Risks of Smart Glasses with AI-Powered Surveillance Tool

Smart Glasses Sound Great, but There Are So Many Privacy Issues

Quick LinksWarped Speed Doxxing Weak Built-in Privacy Features Bystanders Have Not Opted-in Meta Has Suffered a Series of Hacks Key Takeaways Smart glasses allow for easy doxxing, making it a serious privacy concern. Meta's privacy features mainly benefit the wearer, not bystanders. User reports indicate that taking unwanted photos with the glasses is too easy. With Meta's new smart glasses being more hip and functional than ever, now might finally be the time for smart glasses to go mainstream. If that happens, millions of users will be graced with technology only before seen in James Bond films. If you were worried about your privacy before, wait until you're doxxed in a matter of seconds. 1 Warped Speed Doxxing How would you feel if a total stranger could take a photo of you as they walked by and instantly learn revealing information about you? As a couple of Harvard students demonstrated in September of 2024, this isn't some dystopian capability; it's a reality. These students turned Meta's smart glasses into an instantaneous dox machine. To do so, they livestreamed the video taken with the glasses to Instagram. Then, a computer program scanned the stream and identified those captured using AI facial recognition technology. These identified faces were then run through public databases to find everything from addresses to phone numbers and social media accounts. To be fair, you don't need smart glasses to dox someone; however, they are ideal. What makes smart glasses so effective is that they are covert and always on your face. It's never been so easy to take a photo of a stranger in a split second without being noticed. 2 Weak Built-in Privacy Features When Meta boasts about its smart glasses privacy features, it mostly refers to features controlled by the wearer, not the unsuspecting bystanders being recorded. Meta gives users control over how much information it's allowed to collect, who may use the glasses via its verified feature, and other privacy features. However, when protecting the privacy of anyone who isn't wearing the glasses, Meta only offers one feature: an LED light that is supposed to light up when filming. This small blinking light is supposed to alert those around you that the glasses are recording their surroundings. There are two issues with this feature. For one, people might not notice that the glasses are recording. But more importantly, videos and how-to articles already abound on ways to cover up the LED light. If covered, the light is supposed to prevent you from recording. However, stealthy users across the globe have already found various ways to circumvent this security feature. 3 Bystanders Have Not Opted-in With smart glasses, taking a photo of someone you cross paths with has never been so easy. With a click of a button, a smart glasses wearer can record and take photos of anyone they cross paths with. To be fair, a user with a cell phone could do the same. The difference is how easy it is to take recordings as well as how easy it is to go unnoticed. With a phone or a camera, you are more visible and, as such, may be more likely to ask someone for their consent or be approached by someone who doesn't want their photo taken. Going incognito and filming people against their will has never been easier with these glasses. Even if you value the privacy of those around you, users have reported that the touchpad controls are too sensitive and that Meta's glasses take photos even when a user doesn't want to, like when they're taking off their glasses or adjusting them. 4 Meta Has Suffered a Series of Hacks Meta collects and stores untold amounts of data. Despite collecting so much sensitive data, it hasn't done a great job protecting it. Data breaches take place every year, including in 2021, when 533 million users' information was leaked. Meta has not proved itself to be an adequate protector of customer data. Before using Meta's smart glasses, you need to ask yourself if you trust Meta with even more of your sensitive data, knowing full well that they are prone to hacks. There is no doubt that Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are cooler than ever, but the more they are adopted, the less privacy you and I will have. Luckily, you can defend against this breach of privacy by scrubbing your personal information from public records websites.

Two Students Used Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses With A Facial Recognition System To Dox Strangers' Personal Information

Meta smart glasses have harnessed quite the attention for the blend of fashion and functionality they offer, and the built-in cameras and hands-free interaction users can have with the wearable make it an attraction for many, especially among the younger generation. Recently, two Harvard students have been using smart glasses to access strangers' information, using the wearable to instantly reveal strangers' personal details through Instagram streams, raising some serious privacy questions. Meta's Ray-Ban glasses offer an iconic wearable packed with some smart features that allow users to engage in a hands-free experience. Two Harvard students have integrated smart glasses with a facial recognition system that helps automatically dox strangers and access their information in public. According to 404media, the facial recognition system called I-XRAY can be used to retrieve information such as phone numbers, addresses, or even social security numbers of strangers, and all the user needs to do is look at the person. The software capabilities have been making the rounds, but it is the hardware that has been the talk of the town that runs the software, which is Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Nguyen and Ardayfio created I-XRAY using Meta's smart glasses along with PimEyes facial recognition software, which is currently the largest search engine. The entire system of fetching information on the individual is automatic, and the smart glasses start digging the data as soon as the face is in the frame. In a demo video shared on X, AnhPhu Nguyen stated: We stream the video from the glasses straight to Instagram and have a computer program monitor the stream. We use AI to detect when we're looking at someone's face, then we scour the internet to find more pictures of that person. Finally, we use data sources like online articles and voter registration databases to figure out their name, phone number, home address and relatives' names. The students further went on to suggest that they were able to access information of dozens of Harvard students without them having a clue about this. In response to this project that has been making quite the buzz, Meta pointed that the PimEyes software can be used with any similar hardware with a camera and there is nothing in particular that Meta's smart glasses offer that will aid with the project. The students then gave their reasons for using Meta's smart glasses, suggesting that the hardware looks like everyday glasses, unlike the other wearables, and does not come off as a device. This makes it easier to dox strangers with the device. The second reason for opting for the particular wearable was the price, which is $300 and much cheaper than similar products. Facial recognition software and the use of hardware to access strangers' personal information raise serious concerns about privacy and protecting oneself from situations like these. The two students suggested users can protect against such information access by reaching out to data brokers, opting out of search engines, and requesting data removal.

Harvard Students Expose How Meta Glasses Can be Transformed Into AI-Powered Surveillance Tool

They demonstrated how smart glasses combined with facial recognition can pose a significant threat to individual privacy. Two Harvard students turned Meta's smart glasses into a powerful artificial intelligence (AI)-powered surveillance tool to demonstrate how the line between innovation and privacy invasion has become increasingly blurred. Their I-XRAY project exposes the unsettling potential for misuse of everyday technology. However, they also suggested ways to prevent this. Meta Glasses Turn Into Surveillance Tool Two Harvard students have demonstrated how Meta's smart glasses, combined with facial recognition technology, can instantly reveal personal information. Using widely available technology like Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and public databases, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio have developed a system that can dox individuals, revealing their names, phone numbers, and addresses in real time. The demo, dubbed I-XRAY, works by livestreaming video from the smart glasses to a computer program. This program uses AI to identify faces in the footage and then searches public databases for corresponding information. The results are then displayed on a connected phone app. In a disturbing demonstration, the students were able to identify classmates, their addresses, and even relatives. More alarmingly, they approached strangers on public transportation, pretending to know them based on the information gathered. This highlights the potential for misuse and the serious privacy implications of such technology. Privacy Concerns The implications of this technology have sparked significant concerns about privacy and doxing. Doxing involves the malicious practice of searching for and publicly disclosing private personal information about an individual or organization. In their documentation, the two students acknowledged that their initial 'side project' quickly evolved into a tool with serious privacy implications. They emphasized that their intention was not to create a harmful tool but to demonstrate current technology's potential dangers. By showcasing how easily personal details can be extracted from a person's face in public, they aimed to raise awareness about the urgent need for stronger privacy protections. It's important to note that Meta's privacy policy explicitly warns users against abusing the Ray-Ban glasses, underscoring the potential risks associated with such technology. The potential for privacy violations has been a recurring issue with wearable technology, particularly smart glasses. Google Glass, an early adopter, faced these concerns over a decade ago. How To Remove Your Data The two students also provided resources to help users manage their online presence and reduce the risk of identity theft. One key step is removing your face from reverse face search engines. Platforms like Pimeyes and Facecheck.id allow users to upload a photo and find similar faces across the web. Fortunately, both offer free opt-out services to remove your images from their searches, though Facecheck.id may require verification through a government ID. Another important step is removing information from people search websites. These platforms can disclose personal details, such as your address, phone number, and even relatives' names, based on your name alone. Users can use opt-out services from major players like FastPeopleSearch, CheckThem, and Instant Checkmate. To protect against identity theft from Social Security Number (SSN) leaks, safeguarding your SSN is essential as its misuse can lead to financial harm. They also suggest enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for an additional layer of security on your accounts, requiring a code beyond your password. Additionally, freezing credit can prevent credit bureaus from issuing new lines of credit in your name, making it harder for fraudsters to access financial resources.

Are my Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses spying on me? No, but college students are

In 2013, Google set off a firestorm of privacy objections when it strapped a camera to people's faces with the release of Google Glass. In 2024, much of the scopophobia surrounding camera lenses has been evaporated from society as we became more used to the presence of smartphones and our social media-spearheaded snap-happy culture -- to which the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses undoubtedly owe a portion of its success. However, much like Gen Z's successful revivals of analog tech, flared jeans, and velour, two Harvard students are bringing back the fear of face-worn cameras after showcasing a piece of facial recognition tech that can identify the names, addresses, and phone numbers of strangers at a glance. The project, called I-XRAY, was showcased on X earlier this week, showing how effective it is in snaring the identity of passersby. The tool was built by students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio who sought to highlight privacy concerns by demonstrating how easily readily available resources (like Ray-Ban Meta's smart glasses, LLMs, and public databases) can be used, or misused, to extract people's personal information from online sources. While I-XRAY seems like some nefarious, underhanded means of doxing regular folk, it's actually making use of publicly available data and resources to do much of the heavy lifting. The tool itself is designed to educate, rather than exploit, and won't be released to the public. However, Nguyen and Ardayfio reveal the pipeline by which I-XRAY works its magic, along with guidance on how to protect yourself against this type of tracking. I-XRAY uses a camera feed from a pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which is streamed to Instagram. This feed is then used to snare captures of a person's face, which is then sent to a reverse image search engine like PimEyes or FaceCheck. When a match is found, I-XRAY uses an LLM to scrape any URLs for further information about a subject such as name, occupation, age, etc. This data is then fed into another search engine such as FastPeopleSearch, to expand the amount of data collected. The data found here can include phone numbers, home addresses, and even relatives -- most of which are sourced from public records and social media profiles. Finally, the tool attempts to match social security numbers (SSNs) to any phone numbers gathered in the above process, using free and public services like Cloaked to see if an SSN has been compromised in past data breaches before validating the full SSN with the results. While that seems terrifying enough, more frightening is the speed at which this is done, with the original video showcasing the tool being used in real-time on a public subway. Ultimately concerning is the fact that all of the information it can scrape about an individual is pulled freely and easily from the web. So what can you do to prevent falling foul of such tactics? Well, luckily, quite a bit. Though it may be time-consuming. Nguyen and Ardayfio list several sites and services they made use of in the building of I-XRAY, all of which offer free services to remove yourself from their databases. The links shared by the duo are found below. A more lengthier process involves removing your information from a wider source of data brokers. Owners of Meta's smart glasses or spotters of them in public can breathe a sigh of relief, as while these smart glasses are used in the process, they're by no means a part of the intended use for the device. In fact, any camera-touting pair of smart glasses would fit into I-XRAY's pipeline, or any camera for that matter. Meta's smart glasses are just a readily available piece of technology that offers hands-free capture potential due to its live streaming potential. Still, there is plenty of skepticism surrounding Meta's glasses when it comes to privacy and data collection -- albeit far less than the flak Google Glass was subjected to. Whether that's a sign of the times, I can't say for sure. But I can say that there's a fair reason for some users to be concerned, especially after the company confirmed to Tech Crunch that it uses images and video shared with Meta AI for future model training. However, as a rule of thumb, unless otherwise explicitly stated, almost all interactions with AI models should come with the expectation that conversations and actions will be used for training purposes nowadays. Thankfully, while interactions with the company's AI should be performed with the knowledge that results may turn into training data, Meta's glasses do allow you to disable the sharing of additional data, voice data, and the removal of activities through its Meta View partner app. Of course, for those still wanting additional peace of mind, there's always the option to turn off the power switch for the glasses when they're not actively in use, found on the left-hand temple hinge of each pair. Not only is this one of the ways Meta recommends respecting other's privacy in sensitive spaces but it also helps to maintain battery life for longer periods.

Students used Meta's smart glasses to automatically dox strangers via Instagram streams

They blended facial recognition tech, a large language model and publicly available data. An unsettling report from has shed light on some ways that the could be used to violate people's privacy. Two Harvard students used facial recognition tech and a large language model to unearth a subject's name, occupation and other details. Their setup (dubbed I-XRAY) can use that information to pull together other data about the person including their address, phone number, family member details and partial Social Security Numbers from a variety of sources on the web. All of this is said to happen automatically. While this would be possible with a variety of cameras, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio opted to use Meta's smart glasses since "they look almost indistinguishable from regular glasses" and have a camera built in. A demo video shows the students using the glasses to swiftly find out information about people they meet in public. Nguyen and Ardayfio address people who appear to be strangers by name, discuss their work and bring up a place where they may have met in the past, based on information gleaned through the facial recognition setup. In the video, it's explained that the students stream video from the glasses to Instagram. The stream is monitored by a computer program. Once AI detects someone's face, their I-XRAY system pulls more photos of that person from the web along with public information about them. The program then feeds those details back to a mobile app that Nguyen and Ardayfio built. It can take just a couple of minutes for this process to play out. The students told 404 Media that they developed I-XRAY to make people aware of what's possible with this technology and they won't release the code that they used. Nguyen said that while some of the people they showed the tech to suggested they might use it to network or prank friends, others pointed out some serious safety concerns. "Some dude could just find some girl's home address on the train and just follow them home," Nguyen pointed out. In a that explains some of the tech behind their system, Nguyen and Ardayfio provide resources detailing how to remove your information from the services that they used for I-XRAY. Those concerned about their privacy may also want to consider using personal information removal services such as DeleteMe or Incogni. This kind of technology isn't inherently new -- 404 Media points out that Meta and Google have had the ability to apply facial recognition to a camera feed for years, but didn't release it publicly. But the ability to use it in off-the-shelf smart glasses that appear relatively innocuous (save for a light that is active when the camera is recording) may give cause for concern. When asked for comment, Meta referred Engadget to this section of its terms of service regarding Facebook View, an accompanying app for the smart glasses:

Harvard Students Develop App to Identify Anyone Using Meta Smart Glasses

Meta refused to confirm if video data collected by glasses is private Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses were used by two Harvard engineering students to build an app that can reveal sensitive information about people without them realising it. The students posted a demo of the video on X (formerly known as Twitter) and showcased the app's capability. Notably, the app is not being made publicly available to users, instead, they made it to highlight the dangers of AI-powered wearable devices that use discreet cameras that can capture photos and images of people. The app, dubbed I-Xray, uses artificial intelligence (AI) for facial recognition and then uses processed visual data to doxx individuals. Doxxing, a popular Internet slang which is a portmanteau of "dropping dox (informal of docs or documents)", is the act of revealing personal information about someone without their consent. It was integrated with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but the developers said that it would work with any smart glasses with discreet cameras. It uses an AI model similar to PimEyes and FaceCheck for reverse facial recognition. The technology can match the face of an individual to publicly available images of them online and scour the URLs. Another large language model (LLM) is then fed these URLs and an automatic prompt is generated to find out the person's name, occupation, address, and other similar data. The AI model also looks through publicly available government data such as voter registration databases. Additionally, an online tool named FastPeopleSearch was also used for this. In a short video demonstration, Harvard students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio also showcased the workings of this app. They were able to meet strangers with the camera already turned on, and ask their name, and the AI-powered app could take over from there to find personal data about the individual. In a Google Docs file, the developers said, "This synergy between LLMs and reverse face search allows for fully automatic and comprehensive data extraction that was previously not possible with traditional methods alone." The students have stated that they do not intend to make the app publicly available and only developed it to highlight the risks of an AI-enabled wearable device that can discreetly record people. However, this does not mean that bad actors cannot make a similar app using a similar methodology.

Facial recognition Meta Ray-ban glasses knows who you are in real time

This shows how the I-Xray software works, from capturing the image to aggregating the data In what might be described as a real-life Black Mirror episode, a Harvard student uses facial recognition with $379 Meta Ray-Ban 2 smart sunglasses - to dig up personal data on every face it sees in real time. If you've ever cared about your privacy, now might be the time to grab the tin foil hat. I've already got mine on. AnhPhu Nguyen, a junior at Harvard University, uses the livestreaming feature of his Meta Ray-Ban 2 smart glasses while a connected computer monitors the feed in real-time. He employs publicly available AI-powered facial recognition software to detect faces and scour the internet for more images of those individuals. He then uses databases like voter registration and online articles to gather names, addresses, phone numbers, next of kin, and even social security numbers. All of this data is scraped together using an LLM (Large Language Model) similar to ChatGPT which aggregates the data into a searchable profile that's fed straight back to his phone. This entire process takes only seconds from being captured discretely on camera to being displayed on his phone, giving off real life Cyberpunk 2077 vibes. Nguyen has been very poignant to say that he's not done any of this for nefarious or malicious purposes. He's even published a small "how to" remove your information from some of the databases he uses to scrape your personal data. He wants to raise awareness of the implications this type of technology presents. While he offers a "solution" to help protect yourself, it's really a small drop in a very large bucket that very well may never have a solution. Or maybe the solution will be wearing smart glasses of your own with Infrared Lights constantly blinding other facial recognition cameras? Unfortunately, bad actors (hackers that act maliciously) have already broken into many websites and databases, including in April of this year, when information on 3 billion people, including every single social security number in existence was stolen from the background check company National Public Data and posted on the Dark Web. With the proliferation of AI over just the last few years, one has come to expect to see it used in new and inventive ways ... even if that carries a negative connotation, like deep fakes and disinformation to trick the masses into believing whatever narrative the creator wants them to believe. For now, Nguyen says he's not releasing his software dubbed I-Xray. But if a smart college kid has already "cracked the code", imagine what's already happening behind the curtains. At least I think that was the lesson Edward Snowden was trying to tell us.

Harvard students create smart glasses that instantly dox strangers

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. WTF?! Technology's invasive reach is expanding at an alarming rate. Two enterprising students have demonstrated how easily off-the-shelf programs can be used to create smart glasses capable of doxing strangers on the street. This unsettling project serves as a stark reminder of how thin the line is between privacy and surveillance - a line that is blurring even more in the age of smart devices and AI. Two Harvard students, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, have created a controversial project called I-XRAY, which combines facial recognition technology with smart glasses that not only can identify people but also retrieve their personal information - including their home address, phone number, and family members - in real-time. The project uses Meta's commercially available Ray-Ban smart glasses and a custom-built system that can quickly look up a person's face and provide identifying details on the user's phone. "To use it, you just put the glasses on, and then as you walk by people, the glasses will detect when somebody's face is in frame," Ardayfio told 404 Media. "After a few seconds, their personal information pops up on your phone." According to an accompanying Google Doc describing the project, I-XRAY relies on several existing technologies, including PimEyes, which is a facial recognition service used to look up people's faces, and data brokers that collect personal information. Large language models (LLMs) are also used to infer personal details from scraped web content. Essentially, they have used mostly off-the-shelf products to build a system that automatically doxes people in public spaces. After a photo is snapped, the system automatically visits the PimEyes website and uploads the photo. PimEyes provides the URLs where the matching photos can be found and I-XRAY then opens those URLs, which can be anything from yearbook photos to profiles on an employer's website. The LLM is able to determine the person's name, job, and other personal details from those URLs. Once it has the name, I-XRAY then taps a commercially accessible data broker, which provides home addresses, phone numbers and information about family relationships. The creators showed off I-XRAY's capabilities in a video posted on X and in a live demonstration for 404 Media. The system was able to identify classmates, strangers on the subway, and even pull up childhood photos of subjects. Not surprisingly, the people doxed were shocked. As one subject told Ardayfio: "Dude, holy shit, this is the craziest thing I've ever seen. How do you know my mom's phone number?" The students claim their motivation was primarily curiosity and interest. However, they quickly realized the potential dangers. "Some dude could just find some girl's home address on the train and just follow them home," Nguyen said. Indeed, one of the live demonstrations showed how easily the technology could be used for nefarious purposes. Ardayfio approached a woman he called Betsy armed with information he gleaned from the face match on his phone. He introduced himself claiming they had met through a specific foundation that had been included in the search results. The woman's surname was hidden in the video but 404 Media said it was easily able to identify her based on the information in the demo. The publication said it was unclear whether she consented to be used as a test subject. The system is not foolproof, though. Sometimes it provided the wrong name, according to some of the responses in the demonstration. Not surprisingly, the project raises significant privacy concerns. When asked for comment, a Meta spokesperson emphasized that facial recognition technology could be used with any camera, not just their Ray-Ban smart glasses. They also pointed to their terms of service, which state users are responsible for using the glasses "in a safe, lawful, and respectful manner." PimEyes, the facial recognition service used in the project, expressed surprise at how their technology was being applied. Nguyen and Ardayfio say they are not releasing the code for I-XRAY. They view their project as a way to raise awareness about the current state of technology and its potential misuse. "I think people could definitely take the idea and run with it," Ardayfio said. "I would hope that awareness that we've spread on how to protect your data would outweigh any of the negative impacts this could have."

Terrifying new app shows how Meta smart glasses can help you identify...

This pernicious program is every stalker's dream. Two Harvard students have created a new tool to highlight how easily Ray-Ban's Meta smart glasses can be used to identify an individual and obtain access to their personal information, including a home address. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, who are engineering students at the Ivy League school, posted a chilling video demonstration of their program, dubbed I-XRAY to X on Monday. "Some dude could just find some girl's home address on the train and just follow them home," Nguyen told 404 Media about the sinister potential of the specs. Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses can record up to three minutes of video. The I-XRAY program works by uploading the footage from the glasses to PimEyes, a facial recognition tool that uses AI to match a recorded face to any publicly available images on the internet. I-XRAY then prompts another AI tool to scour public databases to retrieve personal details about the individual in the image, including their name, address, phone number, and even information about relatives. This information is then sent to the I-XRAY mobile app. In the video posted to X, Nguyen and Ardayfio are seen identifying several classmates in real-time and even approaching strangers in public using information gathered from the technology to act as if they know them. However, Nguyen and Ardayfio are not releasing the program and say they only created it to "highlight [the] significant privacy concerns" associated with the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. "The purpose of building this tool is not for misuse, and we are not releasing it," the pair clarified in an additional document. To mitigate potential exposure by bad actors using the Meta smart glasses, Nguyen and Ardayfio have also released step-by-step instructions to help people remove themselves from the public databases they used to obtain the personal information. 404 Media has reported that "both Meta and PimEyes seemed to downplay the privacy risks" in the parst. Meta claims that "the same risks exist with photos" as it does with any recording obtained from the smart glasses. PimEyes, meanwhile, says its technology "does not 'identify' people" but only links to photos where users can often find identifying information.

Harvard students make utterly dystopic smart glasses that can instantly dox anyone they see

Cyberpunk dystopia and sci fi fashion moment all in one sleek wearable. My father was fond of telling me, "On the internet, no one knows you're a dog." Unfortunately, dear old Dad, times have moved on a bit since the era of online anonymity; a sufficiently motivated individual can easily uncover A) you're not in fact a hound, B) what may be your most likely route for walkies, and C) so much more besides. Two Harvard students, Caine Ardayfio and AnhPhu Nguyen, have built a project called I-XRAY (via Interesting Engineering) that demonstrates just how terrifyingly easy it is to harness available technology to dig up the personal information of any stranger you could clap eyes upon. The pair took Meta's smart glasses -- specifically the Meta Ray Bans 2 because, hey, those just look like fashionable frames -- and linked them up with face search engine PimEyes. By way of a Large Language Model and some proprietary code, anyone wearing the tweaked smart glasses can look at someone on the street, and then have that individual's personal details -- their name, address, and even parts of their social security number -- sent directly to their phone. Meta themselves have already been noodling on integrating AI into their smart glasses so it's a small comfort that, like that internal dev kit, I-XRAY will never be widely released to the already privacy starved public. Ardayfio and Nguyen haven't shared exactly how they made I-XRAY beyond broadly detailing the steps involved. That said, besides the custom-built phone app Ardayfio and Nguyen created specifically for the project, many of the composite elements are already out there. The pair explain the motivation behind the project in their dossier, writing, "Our goal is to demonstrate the current capabilities of smart glasses, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases, raising awareness that extracting someone's home address and other personal details from just their face on the street is possible today." In a video shared by AnhPhu Nguyen, the pair pull up old school photos of fellow classmates and even strike up conversation with perfect strangers as though they've met before, thanks to the information being fed to their phones through the glasses. Notably in what the students choose to show, I-XRAY doesn't identify people with complete accuracy, in one instance misidentifying a student as their twin, and completely pulling up the wrong name for another -- so, there's that at least. Thankfully, the pair's dossier also details how to remove your information from the databases their project draws personal details from. Helpful links to PimEyes and similar services' opt-out pages are collated together, but the whole project has me considering more drastic action. Just to be safe, I'm contemplating either getting really into anti-surveillance makeup or donning a rubber horse head mask at all times. What do you reckon?

These Meta Smart Glasses Reveal a Person's Private Details By Simply Looking at Them

Harvard students have demonstrated the terrifying power of AI smart glasses by making a pair that reveals anyone's personal information by just looking at them. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayifo created "I-XRAY" by taking a pair of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses which can livestream video to Instagram. A computer program monitors the livestream and uses AI to identify faces. Once a face is found, the photo is fed into public databases to instantly bring up the person's name, images, addresses, phone numbers, and even their parents' names. The information is displayed on a phone app. Nguyen shared a video to his X page (formerly Twitter) demonstrating the glasses in which he approaches random people in public and asks them whether they are who I-XRAY says they are. In one scary exchange, he asks a woman waiting for public transport if her name is Betsy and lies that the pair met through the "Cambridge Community Foundation" -- where Betsy apparently works. Nguyen and Ardayifo tried it on dozens of their classmates successfully bringing up all manner of private information on multiple occasions. "We streamed this video from the glasses straight to Instagram and have a computer program monitor the stream," explains Nguyen. "We use AI to detect when we're looking at someone's face then we scour the internet to find more pictures of that person. Finally, we use data sources like online articles and voter registration databases to figure out their name, phone number, home address, and relative's names. And it's all fed back to an app we wrote on our phones." Nguyen stresses that the goal of the project is to raise awareness about the tech that already exists today and that this is not some far-off dystopian reality. "Please note that our goal is NOT to release any product or code," Nguyen writes on X. "This is meant to be a demonstration to raise awareness of what's possible today with consumer tech. We also outline a detailed guide on how to make yourself unsearchable by tools like this."

Dark Side of 'Smart' Glasses: Students Show How They Can Instantly Find Strangers' Names, Addresses

When a match is identified, an AI system retrieves personal details like names and addresses. Pushing the boundaries of privacy, two Harvard University students have developed a modified version of Meta's "smart glasses" called I-XRAY. The system employs artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to identify individuals instantly, disclosing their personal information. In a revealing demonstration, the students approach strangers and swiftly obtain details such as their names, home addresses, work histories, and even parental information, 404 Media reported. The creators of the technology, AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, are engineers at Harvard University, and they say their "tool is not for misuse, and we are not releasing it." Instead, their aim is to highlight the capabilities of current technologies, including smart glasses, facial recognition, large language models, and public databases. By doing so, they hope to raise awareness about the existing potential to extract people's personal details, such as their home addresses, merely from their facial images. Mr. Nguyen shared a video of the technology on X, with the caption, "Are we ready for a world where our data is exposed at a glance?" The video demonstrates how the students utilize a combination of market-available technologies to create AI glasses that uncover personal information simply by observing individuals. The process begins with a pair of Ray-Ban Meta 2, chosen for their resemblance to regular eyewear. Activating the glasses allows them to record up to three minutes of live video, streamable on platforms like Instagram. A program called PimEyes, described as a reverse image search tool, monitors the livestream footage. According to the students, PimEyes can match faces to publicly accessible images found online. Once a match is identified, an AI system retrieves associated personal details like names, occupations, and other related information. The I-XRAY project utilizes FastPeopleSearch, an online tool capable of finding personal data such as home addresses, phone numbers, ages, and familial connections using only a name and publicly available records or social media profiles.

Harvard duo modifies Meta glasses to grab strangers' info

'You can build this in a few days - even as a very naïve developer' A pair of inventive Harvard undergraduates have created what they believe could be one of the most intrusive devices ever built - a wake-up call, they tell The Register, for the world to take privacy seriously in the AI era. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, who've collaborated previously on some positively explosive projects, shared their latest project on X in the form of a pair of Meta Ray-Bans that can attempt to automatically and swiftly identify anyone in view of the device's camera and return an AI-generated dossier on them. Dubbed "I-XRAY" by Nguyen and Ardayfio, the project uses Meta glasses to stream videos to Instagram. Faces captured from the livestream are fed through services like PimEyes, which match the images to publicly available ones and return the URLs. With at least a name, I-XRAY can then cross-reference this data using people-search sites to find addresses and other details - potentially even partial Social Security numbers, pieced together from different sites displaying SSN fragments. The server-side system doing the work, built by the pair in Python, spits its LLM-summarized results to a mobile app built in JavaScript, and boom: A mini biography on anyone, available instantly. Or, almost instantly - Ardayfio told us the app is actually a bit slow, and usually takes "a minute or so" to pull results. To top it all off, every bit of data I-XRAY pulls is publicly available - making this a potential open source intelligence privacy nightmare. Using a pair of smart glasses for the project was relatively arbitrary, Nguyen told us in an email exchange, and was largely down to making a flashy choice that would attract attention. "Ninety-nine percent of the damage a bad actor could make from this tool is independent of whether they have smart glasses," Nguyen explained. "Someone could very easily, discreetly, take a picture of someone from afar - cameras have 50x zoom today. They're really good at that." Any hidden - or not-so-hidden - camera could be used to do what the duo did, they told us. And it doesn't take much coding know-how either: The pair only needed two or three days of coding, around four to six hours a day, to get the project running, Nguyen recalled. While Ardayfio has nine years of coding experience, and Nguyen three, that doesn't matter, we're told. "Anyone who can run some simple web automations with ChatGPT can build this," Nguyen said. "It's astonishing that you can build this in a few days - even as a very naïve developer." The duo doesn't intend to release their code - primarily because of its potential for misuse. But they noted it was also originally just a side project that wouldn't be fit for public consumption. "The tech works okay," Ardayfio told The Register. "But it's slow, and not fully accurate." "Our main goal [was] to show people what's possible with fairly standard technology so that people can take their own privacy and data into their hands," Ardayfio added. "Bad actors already know how to do what we did, but we can help the good guys and the general public be more conscious of how to protect themselves." Consumer Reports' Yael Grauer maintains an extensive list of data broker websites - and what needs to be done to request information deletion - on GitHub, for those who would like to minimize their online presence. ®

Students adapt Meta's smart glasses to dox strangers in real time

Two students have made a pair of smart glasses with facial recognition technology to discover the private information of strangers. In a video demonstration, one of the Harvard students is shown using the technology to quickly discover details about the woman sitting near him at a train station in Boston. "Wait, are you Betsy?" he asks her. Betsy is a complete stranger and he hasn't heard of her until seconds before. "I think I met you through the Cambridge Community Foundation, right?" She smiles, stands up to greet him and shakes his hand. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio made the demonstration to show how easily smart glasses can be used maliciously. "Are we ready for a world where our data is exposed at a glance?" Mr Nguyen asked in a post on X. Mr Nguyen, who studies human augmentation, and Mr Ardayfio, who studies physics, created the facial recognition glasses using tools that are readily available on the market. They used a pair of Meta's smart Ray Bans and streamed its live recordings to a computer, where AI was used to spot when the glasses were looking at a face. Using that first, live picture, the computer looked up more pictures of the person and then scoured voter registration databases and news articles. Using those publicly available sources, the two students were able to quickly discover people's names, phone numbers, home addresses and even relatives' names. In a video shared online, the experiment is repeated over and over, with Mr Nguyen and Mr Ardayfio testing it out on Harvard's campus to the shock of their fellow students. "This is meant to be a demonstration to raise awareness of what's possible today with consumer tech," said Mr Nguyen, adding the pair won't be releasing the code for how they built the programme. "It's too dangerous," Mr Nguyen told one of his followers. Meta told Sky News the Ray Bans do not come equipped with facial recognition technology and will also make a sound and show a light to indicate to others that the glasses are recording. Read more from science and technology: 'Most impressive comet of the year' set to burn across the night sky Musk lashes out after 'summit snub' 'Mini-moon' about to enter Earth's orbit The sound and recording light cannot be disabled by the user, and if the light is completely covered, the user will be asked to remove obstacles before taking a photo or recording a video. "From what we can see, these students are simply using publicly-available facial recognition software on a computer that would work with photos taken on any camera, phone or recording device," said a Meta spokesperson.

Turns out Meta's smart glasses were actually holding back on their spying potential

Review: The Tile Pro is still the only worthwhile tracker for most Android users Key Takeaways Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses make it easier to document things that happen in your life. A new project by two students called I-XRAY showcases what can be done with custom software and a pair of Meta Ray-Bans. The app allows almost instant recognition of subjects, with data that includes names, addresses, phone numbers, and more. Meta makes one of the best smart glasses you'll find on the market, with the Ray-Ban collaboration sitting at the very top of our "best of" list. Of course, this is still a very niche market, which means, you're probably not going to see many of these out in the wild, despite the latest version of these glasses being available for close to a year now. Again, these glasses aren't for everyone, but if you're someone that likes to take photos and videos, but do them differently, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are going to worth trying out. Related Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses review: Built for social creators Ray-Ban style meets Meta smarts to create a pair of almost perfect POV glasses for social creators Now, with the introduction of these types of devices, there will always be privacy concerns. Especially now, with the implementation of AI in lots of modern products, which has led to companies to be very cautious about how their products collect and use data that's captured. Meta even has a dedicated privacy page that goes through the ins and outs of the Meta Ray-Bans in order to ensure that they are being used properly. Of course, a brand can't always control how its devices are being used, which is why there will always be outlying examples of tech that can be used in ways not originally intended. This isn't the future, this is our new reality This is where a project called I-XRAY by two Harvard students comes into play, with AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio giving us real world examples of how the Meta Ray-Bans can be used when some clever tweaks are applied (via The Verge). In a post on X by Nguyen, we can see the work in action, showcasing how a string of available services and a custom application that can process it all, can really make an episode of Black Mirror come to life. The app has the ability to process information in real time, putting names to faces in what seems like just a few seconds. The app can even go beyond just names, surfacing more intimate details like home address, phone number, and other more nuanced pieces of information that can really make it seem like you have a personal connection with the subject. Again, you can see this in action, as the duo took the project to the streets in order to show just how quickly the app can work in real world scenarios. And while it's kind of scary, it's also quite impressive, to say the least. Now, not everyone is going to be able to create something like this, and most folks will just be using their Meta Ray-Bans for fun. So, if you see a pair in the wild, you shouldn't be too worried. But it's important to note what can be accomplished with a little ingenuity and effort. And if this can be done by a couple of students now, it'll be interesting to see where this all goes in a few years' time.

Students Add Facial Recognition to Meta Smart Glasses to Identify Strangers in Real-Time

Two students at Harvard University modified a set of Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses to add AI-based facial recognition technology, and the result is a wearable that is able to identify people in real time, according to a report from 404 Media. The modified Meta Glasses are able to use the camera to scan a stranger's face to get their name, and there's also a function for pulling information like home address, phone number, and family members from internet sites that store that kind of data. AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, the creators, demonstrated the glasses in public. Ardayfio walked up to a total stranger, scanned her face, got her name and affiliations, and then pretended that he knew her from one of the organizations that came up in a search about her. In a second demo, Nguyen identified a random man and initiated a conversation, pretending to have read his work based on what the glasses surfaced. Dozens of Harvard students were identified and they were never aware that AI face scans had been used to suss out their names and information about them. Nguyen said that the project is meant to raise awareness of what can be done with today's consumer technology, face search engines, LLMs, and public databases. The two creators have no plans to release any kind of product or code. Nguyen and Ardayfio chose the Meta Ray-Ban Glasses because "they look almost indistinguishable from regular glasses," making them ideal for surreptitious image capture. Reverse facial recognition was used to match faces to publicly available images, and PimEyes, a face recognition search engine, was identified as the "most effective" way to find people. An LLM was used to look up details about a person across the web, and FastPeopleSearch provided additional information. The entire setup is automatic, thanks to LLMs. Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses are simple in design and are primarily focused on taking images, but even that limited hardware is enough to generate detailed information about a person almost instantly. With a faster processor, on-device AI capabilities, better camera technology, and augmented reality, future products could do even more. In response to the report, Meta told 404 Media that PimEyes facial recognition can be used with any camera, and it's not something that is "only possible because of Meta Ray-Bans." That is true, but the Meta Ray-Bans look like a standard pair of glasses, and many people aren't aware when the glasses are being used to take photos. PimEyes said that it found the report "quite surprising" because its search engine is "not designed to identify individuals, either directly or indirectly."

Meta smart glasses can be used to secretly identify people's faces

Meta's smart glasses have been converted into a facial recognition device that enables the user to identify random people in real time. The conversion of Meta's smart glasses into a facial recognition device came from two Harvard students who called the glasses I-XRAY. Here's how it works. The students took advantage of the smart glasses livestreaming directly to Instagram feature and combined that with an AI program that monitors the video live stream to identify any faces within the video. Images of the faces are then captured and fed into public databases, which result in phone numbers, names, addresses, and more personal information being fed back to the wearer of the glasses through a phone app. AnhPhu Nguyen posted the above video detailing the process of creating the glasses, and within the video, you can see them being used to identify classmates and, perhaps more shockingly, strangers in public, which the students pretended to know based on the information the device was able to obtain on the individual. For those concerned about the potential impact of releasing such a product to the market, fear not, as the students behind the project said the glasses were created to raise awareness about potential privacy issues with smart glasses.

College students used Meta's smart glasses to doxx people in real time

AnhPhu Nguyen, one of the two students, posted a video showcasing the tech in action that was then picked up by 404 Media. Dubbed I-XRAY, the tech works by using the Meta smart glasses' ability to livestream video to Instagram. A computer program then monitors that stream and uses AI to identify faces. Those photos are then fed into public databases to find names, addresses, phone numbers, and even relatives. That information is then fed back through a phone app.