A new app called Zuckoff has gained 5,000 users since its launch on Apple’s App Store last month, according to its creator. The tool is designed to detect nearby Meta smart glasses by identifying their Bluetooth signatures and estimating proximity.
The app’s developer, Pawel Szydlowski, a 30-year-old Polish software engineer, built the tool after seeing videos of people using smart glasses to record strangers without consent. Szydlowski stated, "There's a need for such an application." The app displays the likely distance of nearby smart glasses on its main scanning screen. A paid "Zuckoff Pro" version sends notifications even when the app is closed.
Meta has faced criticism over the potential misuse of its AI smart glasses. This month, the company disabled thousands of glasses after discovering that users had tampered with the built-in LED lights, which are supposed to activate automatically during recording. Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth recently stated in an Instagram video that "we designed this camera to be noticed by the people around you." However, incidents of misuse persist despite these safeguards.
The app operates by scanning for Bluetooth signals emitted by smart glasses, which Szydlowski argues provides a workaround to concerns about surreptitious recording. The tool arrives at a time when public unease over privacy risks associated with wearable cameras is growing.
Szydlowski, who described himself as coming from an earlier era of YouTube, noted that his generation operated under a paradigm of minimal privacy in on-camera content. He framed Zuckoff as a response to what he perceives as a gap in safeguarding individuals from unconsented recordings.
Meta has not publicly commented on the app’s existence or its potential impact on the company’s smart glasses ecosystem.