Kmart has withdrawn its $99 Anko smart camera glasses from stores in New Zealand and Australia, less than three months after launching the product, as privacy concerns surrounding camera-equipped eyewear continue to grow.
According to a report by Stuff, the glasses, which could connect to the internet and allow users to take and share photos and videos in real time, were significantly cheaper than Meta’s smart glasses, which are sold in New Zealand through retailers such as JB Hi-Fi for more than $600.
The Anko glasses proved popular after going on sale, selling out online in August. However, the product listing has since disappeared, while Kmart’s $49 “speaker glasses” remain available without camera functionality.
Privacy advocates have raised concerns about smart glasses that can record people without their knowledge, particularly as cheaper models become more widely available and can be difficult to distinguish from regular eyewear. Some critics have referred to camera-equipped smart glasses as “pervert glasses”, Stuff has reported.
The withdrawal follows growing scrutiny in Australia. On Wednesday, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Kmart had removed the Anko smart glasses from its Australian stores following calls for government action.
Activist Gina Martin had reportedly urged Kmart group managing director Aleksandra Spaseska to withdraw the product, with more than 57,000 people joining a campaign hosted by advocacy group GetUp, as reported by Stuff.
According to Stuff, Australia’s privacy commissioner Carly Kind also signalled an investigation into Shenzhen Qingcheng Future Technology, the Chinese company behind the HeyCyan app used by the Anko glasses and other smart eyewear.
When approached for comment, a Kmart spokesperson directed Stuff to the Australian Retail Council (ARC).
ARC chief executive Chris Rodwell said the organisation was aware of the privacy commissioner’s investigation and was reviewing the issue with its members.
“From our current understanding, the investigation concerns how the app developer handles personal information. Customers who choose to use the companion app sign up to the developer’s terms and privacy policy,” Rodwell said, Stuff has quoted.
He also said the ARC was “sharing [the privacy commissioner’s] advice with members and seeking further detail”, as reported by Stuff.
The New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner has also been approached for comment.
The debate over camera-equipped smart glasses has intensified as privacy experts warn that the technology could make covert filming easier.
University of Canterbury law lecturer Cassandra Mudgway previously said the technology had made covert filming “remarkably easy”, while cases overseas have involved women being secretly recorded and the footage shared on social media, Stuff has reported.
Mudgway has also noted that existing New Zealand law may provide limited protection in some situations, particularly when people are recorded in public.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses include an LED indicator intended to alert people when the device is recording or taking photographs. However, Australia’s Digital Rights Watch deputy chairperson Tom Sulston has warned that recording indicators can potentially be disabled or obscured, as reported by Stuff.
Sulston has supported some restrictions on the technology while also cautioning that enforcing such rules could prove difficult.
The withdrawal of Kmart’s Anko glasses comes as authorities and privacy advocates continue to examine how existing privacy laws should respond to increasingly accessible wearable technology capable of recording people in everyday settings, Stuff has reported.