Designers Now Making Sunglasses That Block Facial Recognition

While Meta and Ray-Ban keep pushing their smart glasses, a handful of eyewear brands are pushing back. Designers like Solir Optics are going the opposite direction, building sunglasses that jam facial recognition and biometric scanning outright. And I’m absolutely loving this.

Solir Optics’ General manager Nate Troxell told the New York Post his team is “making a firewall for your face.” In other words, they’re making anti-facial-recognition sunglasses priced between $70 and $100. The brand says they built the sunglasses line after customers started asking for it. But it gets better: they’re now developing anti-surveillance lenses for prescription glasses, too.

Troxell says the tech traces back to an unlikely source. The lenses were originally built for cannabis growers who needed to block artificial light in their greenhouses. And when it comes to the facial recognition blocking glasses, he designed the line to blend in rather than look tactical.

If you wear a pair of these, you’ll block facial recognition, but also throw off the retinal scans that security cameras use to quietly identify people in casinos, concert venues, and even some supermarkets.

According to New York Post, Solir isn’t alone in these efforts. Gramercy-based designer Kerin Rose Gold, who runs the eyewear label A-Morir, has also started producing anti-surveillance glasses. While these won’t get you identified, they sure will get you noticed. :)

It’s Time for Anti-Surveillance Fashion

Glasses are just one front of surveillance protection. We’ve seen loud, chaotic prints engineered to confuse computer vision systems. We’ve also covered a DIY “camera-shy hoodie” you can use to confuse night vision surveillance cameras.

I particularly like the line by Knitwear designer Rachele Didero. She launched Cap_able line back in 2019, using wildly printed textiles designed to trip up facial recognition software. “In the digital world, we have the opportunity to say yes or no to cookies. But in the physical world, we might not even know there’s a camera,” she said. As someone who crochets, I like this line a lot. Not only it serves a purpose, but also looks amazing!

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Personally, since I live in Serbia, I totally see the point of anti-surveillance glasses, wardrobe, or any other accessories. Since law is lawless over here, I believe anyone who is anti-government and loud about it should accessorize.

Perhaps I should place an order.

[via PetaPixel]

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