Adam, a citizen journalist who posts videos under the name Migrant Hotel Manager, wears Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which he uses for filming, as he poses for a portrait in Salford, Greater Manchester, Britain, November 21, 2025, © REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja
(New York, NY) – Women are well aware of the male gaze. Whether it’s a look the lingers, or an outright stare — men can be obvious when it comes to their eyes. But other times it’s not so obvious. And that became clear to a woman who was recently waiting for a flight — at an airport lounge in Boston.
Lauren Britt is from Tampa, Florida. The 28-year-old woman says she had a brief conversation with a man that was entirely forgettable — then later saw footage of herself posted online. Unbeknownst to Britt, the man was filming her while they chatted — using his Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.
It as actually Britt’s brother who saw the footage posted on Instagram, and when he alerted her, she took to TikTok. Her video begins with the explanation: “Here I am, minding my business at the airport, and this guy starts to talk to me. Is that creepy? He never asked.”
The technology in question isn’t new — in fact, camera equipped glasses first showed up on the scene in 2012. But Meta (parent company to Facebook and Instagram) released these new glasses with updates in 2023. The boosted cameras, speakers, and microphones have raised privacy concerns among some.
When a woman was similarly filmed (sans knowledge or permission) in Sydney, she raged that the incident was “violating and disgusting.” That’s after the US content creator who filmed the interaction posted it to his Instagram account that has 1.3 million followers. The Sydney woman says she “was just strolling along, reading the news, but when I looked up, I saw that a man was about to approach me.” She explains the man fiddled with his glasses, which may have been a tip off as to what was happening.
Of course, some jurisdictions have laws surrounding this type of thing. New South Wales, Australia — where Sydney is located — has laws than can lead to five years imprisonment, if private recordings are made without consent. But when those videos are taken in public spaces, that complicates enforcement.
Sometimes it’s the social media platform that takes action. Sayed, a US-based TikToker under the handle @itspolokid was permanently banned because he routinely filmed women wearing bikinis on beaches. He acted as though he was delivering compliments or asking for a date.
Britt and the video shot from the airport in Boston drew some negative comments such as: “Why are these even a thing” … “DUDE WTAF?!” … “That’s such an invasion of privacy” … “The glasses are more scary than AI right now” … and “I’m not going to talk to any man in glasses again.”
