ZUCKOFF RECOGNIZES CAMERA GLASSES THROUGH BLUETOOTH
Created by Polish developer Paweł Szydłowski, ZuckOff is an independent app that makes the otherwise invisible presence of camera-equipped glasses more legible through Bluetooth. The app listens for signals emitted by devices including Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta, and Snap Spectacles, alerting users when compatible hardware is nearby while showing the evidence behind each detection.
As cameras and other sensors appear disguised as objects that resemble ordinary eyewear, their technological capabilities can become difficult for people nearby to recognize. ZuckOff approaches that problem at the level of the device’s wireless communication, turning Bluetooth advertisements into information that can be inspected on a phone, watch, or computer.
image by Sadjad Frogh
Paweł Szydłowski’s APP SHOWS USERS WHY A DEVICE is FLAGGED
ZuckOff exposes the wireless signals that can indicate the presence of a potentially recording device, responding to a particular ambiguity created by camera glasses. Paweł Szydłowski’s app currently identifies Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta through their manufacturer signature, as well as Snap Spectacles. It can also record other Bluetooth devices it encounters, including display glasses and headsets such as Quest and Vision Pro, but does not flag those devices as camera glasses.
The app assigns confidence levels, including possible, likely, and strong. A Ray-Ban Meta detection, for example, can show its manufacturer ID, the advertised service, signal strength, approximate distance, and other identifying information. Users can therefore inspect the reasoning rather than receiving an unexplained notification, making ZuckOff an interface for interpreting an increasingly dense wireless environment.
image courtesy of Meta
seeing why a device was flagged
The app’s Sightings interface keeps a record of every Bluetooth device heard nearby, whether or not it is identified as camera glasses. Individual devices can be followed through a signal timeline, creating a record of when they appeared and how their signal changed. Users who own compatible glasses can also mark their own devices, preventing them from repeatedly generating alerts.
The interface deliberately communicates uncertainty. Signal strength can suggest proximity but cannot establish direction, while Bluetooth advertising cannot reveal whether a camera is actively being used.
ZuckOff also has limitations. Camera glasses are easiest to detect when they power on, pair, or leave their case, and most continue broadcasting while they are being worn. Some standalone models can remain silent, however. This means that not detecting a pair does not necessarily mean there are no camera glasses nearby, while detecting one does not mean that its camera is being used.
The app does not require an account, and users can export the full Bluetooth log as a CSV. Its detection rules are based on real device captures. ZuckOff is asking people to share short scans from camera glasses that are not yet supported, or to lend hardware for testing. The team is also open to working with privacy groups. This means the list of detectable devices can grow as new camera glasses appear. Each new device adds another Bluetooth signature that the app can learn to recognize.
XREAL One AR Glasses | image courtesy of XREAL
Meta’s Orion
image by Carlijn Jacobs courtesy of Gentle Monster
image courtesy of Meta
Meta and Ray-Ban’s AI glasses | image courtesy of Meta and Ray-Ban
project info:
name: ZuckOff
developer: Paweł Szydłowski
Estudio EA