A woman has issued a warning after she discovered footage of herself at an airport that was recorded without her knowledge or consent.
Lauren Britt, from Tampa in Florida, has exposed the “creepy” way women are being secretly filmed, leaving many horrified at just how easy it can be for a man to violate a woman’s privacy.
The young woman was caught off guard when she was sat in a lounge waiting to board a flight to Boston, and was approached by a man she didn’t know, who proceeded to have a short conversation with her.
So far, nothing amiss, right?
In fact, the interaction is so innocuous, it’s fair to say Britt probably wouldn’t have thought about it ever again if it wasn’t secretly recorded and uploaded online.
After her brother spotted the video circulating on Instagram, a concerned Britt shared the clip, revealing exactly how the man was able to film without her realizing.
“Here I am, minding my business at the airport, and this guy starts to talk to me,” the 28-year-old explained in a video of her own.
The first glasses with cameras built in were first released back in 2012, but it has taken brands more than a decade to get the once niche piece of technology into the mainstream.
In 2024, Meta — the parent company of multiple social media and communication platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — released its Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.
The spectacles are designed to support low-vision users to read text, identify objects, and describe surroundings or obstacles, but the glasses also come with a slew of modern features, such as a built-in cameras, speakers and a microphone.
And it seems, despite only recently hitting the market, the gadget is already falling into the hands of users with bad intentions.
Britt concluded her video, which she shared to TikTok, by asking: “Is that creepy? He never asked.”
Sadly, women have been filmed and targeted while simply going about their day long before the new tech emerged, but the discreet nature of the glasses arguably has sparked concerns it’s now even easier for men to film unknowing women.
And it seems their fears are justified.
A Sydney woman who was filmed by a US content creator earlier in the year with the same glasses, which retail for as much as $799, said she found it “violating and disgusting” when the interaction was posted to his 1.3 million Instagram followers.
“I was just strolling along, reading the news, but when I looked up, I saw that a man was about to approach me,” she told news.com.au at the time.
“He was trying to lock eyes so I took my earphones out and spoke to him and he shook my hand.
“I now remember that he fiddled with his sunglasses at the start of the chat, but I just thought he was adjusting them. Now I realize he was probably starting the recording because there were two dots on either side, but it was very subtle.”
Currently in Australia, each state and territory has its own surveillance devices laws that dictate people’s rights.
Under the Surveillance Devices Act in NSW, recording a conversation without all parties’ consent can carry a penalty of up to five years imprisonment, while other states have a Human Rights Act that includes a right to privacy.
But when these interactions occur in public spaces, such as at an airport or in a street, it gets complicated.
The public warning of these devices, and the apparent growing social media trend, has proved enough for women everywhere to be alarmed.
“Why are these even a thing,” asked one on Britt’s video.
As one declared: “DUDE WTAF?!”
“That’s such an invasion of privacy,” noted someone else.
“The glasses are more scary than AI right now,” one woman claimed.
While one said, “I’m not going to talk to any man in glasses again.”
One US TikToker hasn’t faced any legal repercussions for secretly recording women on an Aussie beach, but he was banned permanently from the platform.
Sayed, known as @itspolokid on social media, amassed a large following approaching women often in bikinis at the beach.
While it was done so under the guise of complimenting them, or asking for their phone numbers, his actions in Australia saw him reported to NSW Police.
Police investigated the matter but no charges were ever laid.
