Wearable camera technology has hit the mainstream. Privacy experts say our laws were never built for what has arrived on Kmart shelves.
Kmart has begun selling its Anko Camera Glasses for $99, far cheaper than premium alternatives like Meta’s Ray-Ban range. They combine a camera for stills and video, a microphone, built-in speakers and a companion app offering image recognition, inside what looks like an ordinary pair of sunglasses.
University of Canterbury tech professor Annette Mills says the price is only part of the story. She describes the glasses as “essentially a computer on your face”, combining cameras, microphones, speakers and AI powered functions.
The issue, Mills says, isn’t the recording but its invisibility. A smartphone must be visibly raised before filming; smart glasses capture footage discreetly, leaving bystanders unsure whether they are being recorded.
The Privacy Commissioner’s office confirmed the Privacy Act applies regardless of the technology used, and that covert filming can breach it where collecting personal information would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.
The Act’s reach has limits. Information collected for personal or domestic use sits outside the Privacy Act, which is why the highly offensive test matters: it is the point at which private recording stops being exempt from the law. Anyone filmed in a public place has no general right to object, and complaints turn on how the footage is later used or shared, rather than on the moment of capture.
“Tools like CCTV, drones and smart glasses make it easier for individuals to record each other. If individuals do not use them in a responsible manner, that can lead to serious privacy harms,” a spokesperson said, adding that the Harmful Digital Communications Act, stalking offences and other Crimes Act provisions were also relevant.
That carries weight after recent changes. Stalking became a standalone criminal offence on 26 May 2026, carrying up to five years in prison, with covert recording and tracking among the behaviours that can constitute it.
The risk isn’t confined to the wearer. University of Auckland commercial law professor Gehan Gunasekara raised concerns about the companies behind the technology. “The platform also knows all of that information,” he said, pointing to the data these firms accumulate about where people go, what they look at and how communities behave.
Not everyone sees only risk. Blind Low Vision New Zealand chief executive Andrea Midgen calls AI enabled smart glasses one of the most significant advances her community has seen. They read street signs and restaurant menus aloud, keeping both hands free for a white cane or guide dog.
“This is the most exciting game changer thing that we’ve had in technology for our community ever,” Midgen said, while noting the concerns stem more from how people use the technology than the technology itself.
A Kmart Group spokesperson confirmed the glasses are available in New Zealand, part of a category already sold globally by major eyewear and technology brands.
