Smart glasses—eyewear featuring embedded cameras, microphones, AI capabilities, and other tech—are evolving rapidly. New models blend in so seamlessly with ordinary prescription or sunglasses that it’s often impossible to tell them apart at a glance. Yet public awareness of the legal and ethical boundaries remains low. In response, Sweden’s Integritetsskyddsmyndigheten (IMY), the national privacy regulator, has released a set of ten practical recommendations to help users navigate these devices responsibly.
Wearing smart glasses means accepting accountability for potential privacy intrusions. Recordings can unintentionally leak to others through hacks, cloud sync errors, or app sharing. More importantly, even if footage stays private, the act of recording (or the suspicion of it) can make people feel uneasy or violated—especially since covert filming is effortless with discreet hardware.
“Putting on smart glasses carries real responsibility,” explains IMY lawyer Sebastian Caicedo Gordh. “Multiple laws restrict their use, but beyond rules, it’s about basic courtesy toward others. Recording someone face-to-face with these glasses is fundamentally no different from pointing a smartphone camera directly at them and hitting record.”
The devices gather sensitive information: facial recognition data, location details, audio, and more—covering both the user and everyone in view. Unintended dissemination is a serious concern, and in certain contexts, capturing images or video can cross into criminal territory, such as “insulting photography” under Swedish law. Sharing content online often triggers full GDPR obligations, requiring a lawful basis, transparency, and data minimization.
Caicedo Gordh adds: “Certain locations simply aren’t suitable for smart glasses. We expect more shops, restaurants, gyms, and offices to introduce explicit bans or local policies in the coming years. Prospective buyers should anticipate that some places may ask them to remove the devices upon entry.”
IMY urges users to treat smart glasses with the same caution as any recording device: obtain consent where feasible, avoid sensitive situations, understand data flows to manufacturers or apps, and respect signs or verbal requests to stop filming. The full list of ten tips is available on IMY’s dedicated page for more detailed guidance.
By raising awareness early, IMY aims to balance innovation in wearable tech with fundamental rights to privacy and personal dignity.
