One bold new piece of tech has grabbed the attention of many on social media, as a new brand boasting 'stealthy' camera glasses has been slammed after encouraging people to do something that's widely considered illegal.
It's easier than every before for people to record footage and capture photographs without anyone noticing thanks to the proliferation of phones in everyday life, and that has had a number on worrying consequences.
Certain countries like Japan have had to mandate audible shutter noises following a barrage of photography-based sexual harassment cases, and there's a general trend of discontent towards being filmed at any point in time while in public.
One new gadget has only added to these concerns, as new camera glasses brand 'Waves' advertises itself on allowing users to 'record in stealth', and plenty of people aren't too happy.
What are Waves camera glasses?
As reported by Dexerto, the first promotional video for Waves was shared by the company's founder Chris Samra on X, and it boasts the ability for creators to 'record in stealth' and 'livestream all day'.
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This is far from the first pair of smart glasses to include a camera function, as you can look all the way back to 2016 with Snapchat's 'Spectacles' for a similar, albeit far more obvious product.
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Waves is marketing itself on its ability to blend in though, giving creators the ability to film others without them necessarily knowing that they're being filmed.
The accompanying video shows footage 'captured' by Waves from a party, displaying the ability to switch between live streaming and clip-based capture.
You'll be able to stream for roughly 90 minutes from one battery charge, although the batteries themselves are hot swappable and designed to be switched out to give the glasses a longer life span.
You can also record footage of up to 10 minutes in length or in 60-second clips, with a maximum resolution of 3K and in 4:3 aspect ratio.
Could Waves camera glasses be illegal?
The big talking point surrounding Waves right now is the ethical and legal considerations of the product, especially as the 'stealth capture' functionality appears to be its primary branding.
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In the United States alone there are 12 different states that legally require people to gain consent from all parties when recording a conversation, which becomes even trickier when extending that into a live streaming format, and many other countries from across the world have similar laws.
There are also laws regarding recording in private settings like bedrooms or bathrooms, and it opens up a whole can of worms that legal experts would likely advise you to avoid at all costs.
Even if it isn't strictly against the law, many have pushed back against the notion of recording people without their consent or knowledge, and while the gadget does come with an LED which indicates when the camera is on, it appears as if users can manually disable this.
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"This is why people can't be loose and have fun in public anymore," writes one user in the replies to Samra's post. "Everything is recorded and can be used to make fun of you. This is literally spyware."
Another claims that Samra is "a voyeur," adding that "the end result of this will be even further diminished social trust in furtherance of a TikTok. You seem like a bad person."