Researchers Show How Meta's 'Pervert Glasses' Are Used to Harass Women
University of Sydney researchers detail how pickup artists use Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses to covertly film and harass women, then post the videos on Instagram.
Researchers Joanne Gray, Milica Stilinovic, Marcus Carter, and Ben Egliston analyzed 350 Instagram videos posted between September 2023 and March 2026 showing unsolicited approaches to women filmed with smart glasses. They found a clear correlation between covert filming and harassment severity, arguing ambient capture creates 'borderline' harassment that evades platform moderation mechanisms. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the platform would remove harassing pickup-line content, though similar videos remain widespread a month later. Meta's safeguards, such as the recording light, were previously criticized as insufficient, and users have modded glasses to disable the light.
- Dataset covers 350 Instagram pickup-artist videos posted between September 2023 and March 2026.
- Covert first-person capture correlates with more severe harassment of filmed subjects.
- 93.3% of analyzed posts left comments open, extending harassment beyond the in-person encounter.
- Instagram promised to remove harassing content, but enforcement appears inconsistent.
- Research argues the recording light and expectations of responsible use are insufficient safeguards.
- Vendors
- Meta
- Organizations
- University of Sydney404 Media
From the original article
6 min read at 404media.co
Instagram is full of first-person videos of men harassing women in public. They follow a similar script: A man walks up to a woman or group of women in a store, sitting outside a cafe, or walking home from a bar, and delivers a pickup line. The women almost always nervously laugh, react with barely-veiled disgust, or say "fuck off" while he stalks her or refuses to walk away.
By Samantha Cole · 404media.co
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