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Meta\u2019s camera-equipped \u201cAI Glasses\u201d are so divisive that some adopters are now leaving their expensive smart glasses at home, as Engadget reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n Influencers, mostly men, have been using the glasses to inconspicuously \u2014\u00a0and non-consensually \u2014 capture footage of themselves approaching women and attempting to hit on them, interactions they\u2019ve then posted online for content<\/a>. Some wearers have even attempted to extort victims<\/a> of covert recordings for cash. That\u2019s on top of serious allegations of alleged privacy breaches<\/a> by Meta itself.<\/p>\n And then, of course, there\u2019s the simple fact that a lot of people just really don\u2019t like the idea of the world\u2019s largest and most powerful social media giant, which has a history of misusing biometric information<\/a> and other data<\/a>, facilitating abuse and surveillance in this way \u2014\u00a0especially as Meta has taken highly controversial steps<\/a> to infuse facial recognition<\/a> capabilities into the tech.<\/p>\n The wearables have become so alienating that many people have taken to simply referring to the shades as \u201cpervert glasses<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n In short, it\u2019s no wonder some owners aren\u2019t exactly thrilled to be seen in public while wearing them. Several of them told Engadget that while they were initially excited about the tech, misuse and allegations of privacy violations on behalf of Meta have made them hesitant to use their smart glasses outside of their own home.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of men and their behaviors have ruined this product,\u201d a travel creator named Danielle told Engadget. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t feel comfortable around somebody wearing them, so I wouldn\u2019t expect anybody to be comfortable around me wearing them, no matter where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point,\u201d she continued, \u201cthey\u2019re like a fancy paper weight.\u201d<\/p>\n Will Kujawa, a freelance video producer, told Engadget that he was \u201cblown away\u201d by the comment section when he posted online about thinking of buying a pair, and that the intensity of the response made him think twice.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw all these comments about if you wear those glasses you\u2019re basically a predator or a creep, and I was like, \u2018Oh, maybe it\u2019s not a good idea to have those,’\u201d said Kujawa. \u201cI didn\u2019t really think that through all the way\u2026 there are a lot of times where it\u2019s not appropriate to wear cameras on your face.\u201d<\/p>\n Nonetheless, Meta\u2019s smart glasses\u00a0are vastly more popular<\/a> than predecessors like Google Glass, and other tech giants are now racing to catch up. Despite the ongoing privacy lawsuit and glasses-enabled abuse, Meta recently launched a much-discussed new campaign<\/a> with billionaire reality TV star Kylie Jenner. CEO Mark Zuckerberg remains convinced that smart glasses will eventually replace the smartphone<\/a>.<\/p>\n Should sales continue to rise, the controversy surrounding Meta\u2019s smart glasses is likely to deepen.<\/p>\n