Covert filming | Smart glasses - the workplace privacy & data risks of the new wearable tech fad

Employers are being urged to review their workplace policies as the growing use of smart glasses makes covert recording easier and creates new legal and cultural challenges.

Devices such as Ray-Ban Meta glasses combine discreet cameras with AI-powered features, allowing wearers to record hands-free and without attracting the same attention as somebody filming on a mobile phone.

Such is the concern surrounding the tech that several major event organisers have recently banned attendees from wearing them. The Courts & Tribunals Service also announced this week that anyone caught wearing the devices in court buildings would have them confiscated. And this is an issue that permeates the workplace, too.

According to employment law firm TWM Solicitors, the technology could be used to capture client meetings, commercially sensitive negotiations, conversations between colleagues, HR discussions and information displayed on screens, phones or documents.