EssilorLuxottica and Meta sold more than seven million Ray-Ban and Oakley-branded smart glasses in 2025. Sales of these intelligent wearables increased almost threefold compared with 2023. As a result, the category moved into the mainstream.
In 2023, global smart-glasses shipments increased by 210% year on year. Furthermore, ABI Research predicted that shipments will grow from 5.9 million units in 2024 to 114.1 million by 2030.
The technology is advancing faster than public awareness, regulation and governance. Consequently, South Africa sits closer to privacy and regulatory controversy than many people realise.
Real-world incidents highlight growing concerns
This controversy has already surfaced in East Africa. In early 2026, Kenyan and Ghanaian authorities identified Vladislav Luilkov as the Russian vlogger who travelled through Kenya and Ghana wearing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. He recorded intimate encounters with women without their knowledge and posted the footage online for profit.
In the United Kingdom, a BBC investigation documented how a woman was covertly filmed on a beach. The footage subsequently attracted around one million online views. By May 2026, the BBC reported a second victim. She was told that the footage would only be removed if she paid for the service. In effect, this amounted to extortion.
These incidents illustrate why smart glasses are redefining privacy and raising urgent questions about accountability and consent.
Expanding surveillance risks
Smart glasses with discreet cameras extend patterns already associated with smartphones. However, they make it even easier to capture and distribute images or videos without a person’s knowledge. This risk affects both public and private spaces. It also emerges within a society where harassment, exploitation and privacy violations remain widespread.
Wearers can potentially identify a person, determine where they live and uncover other personal details. They can then share this information, together with video footage, across multiple platforms. As a result, significant privacy and security risks arise.
Two students from Harvard University recently demonstrated how footage streamed through these glasses could connect to external AI facial-recognition tools. Their demonstration showed that strangers could identify people in real time. The technology could reveal names, home addresses and other personal information gathered from online sources.
This example further demonstrates how smart glasses are redefining privacy by transforming ordinary public interactions into opportunities for large-scale data collection.
Cybersecurity concerns extend beyond privacy
Smart glasses also function as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. They combine connected hardware with software systems. Consequently, attackers can target them in much the same way as any other connected device.
Our research found that attack vectors continue to grow in sophistication and frequency. Examples include unpatched firmware vulnerabilities, compromised companion applications and malicious Wi-Fi hotspots.
These threats can compromise either the glasses themselves or the devices paired with them. Once attackers gain access, they may view everything the wearer sees. Therefore, the discussion extends beyond privacy alone. It also includes cybersecurity, surveillance and personal safety.
South Africa’s legal framework faces a new challenge
South Africa has already begun adapting its legal framework to address digital abuse. Several laws now address online harassment, harmful content and image-based abuse. These include the Cybercrimes Act, the Protection from Harassment Act, the Domestic Violence Amendment Act and the Film and Publications Act.
At the same time, smart glasses are redefining privacy by changing traditional expectations around visibility, consent and surveillance. These devices represent high-risk AI systems. They capture biometric information in public spaces without meaningful consent mechanisms. In addition, they process footage through offshore contractors that operate beyond South African data-protection oversight.
This creates a direct challenge to the consent framework established under the Protection of Personal Information Act. Lawmakers designed POPIA before invisible wearable surveillance became commonplace. Importantly, POPIA classifies biometric information as “special personal information”. The law generally prohibits organisations from processing such information unless specific authorisation exists.
An opportunity for African leadership
South Africa possesses both the constitutional foundation and the legislative architecture required to lead wearable AI governance across Africa.
As Africa’s most technologically advanced economy, South Africa combines strong BRICS relationships with a mature data-protection framework. This position creates an opportunity 
In other words, South Africa could establish a benchmark that neighbouring countries adopt and adapt.
The challenge now is timing. The technology continues to evolve rapidly. Therefore, policymakers, regulators and industry stakeholders need to act before governance gaps widen further. If South Africa responds effectively, it can shape a future where innovation and privacy protections develop together rather than in conflict.
Allan Juma | Lead | Cyber Security Engineer | ESET Southern Africa | mail me |