Two Harvard students sparked a privacy uproar by showing how Meta's smart glasses can be used to dox individuals in real-time. 

AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio created I-XRAY, a system that combines Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, which feature a built-in camera that streams video to Instagram, with facial recognition technology to identify and retrieve personal information - including names, addresses, and phone numbers - about strangers encountered in public spaces from public databases.

In a video demonstration, Nguyen and Ardayfio approached strangers on public transport, claiming familiarity based on information retrieved through their system. This included addressing individuals by name and referencing personal details that were gathered almost instantaneously.

The students acknowledged the potential for misuse of their technology, emphasising that while it began as an interesting project, it highlighted alarming privacy implications. They said that their intention was not to release I-XRAY publicly due to the associated risks.

The demonstration raised alarms about the dangers of facial recognition technology being integrated into consumer devices. Nguyen pointed out that while some viewed the technology as a tool for networking or harmless pranks, others recognised the serious risks of stalking and harassment it poses.