Wearable Privacy
Stop Being Creepy champions informed consent and privacy protections in wearable tech, highlighting how biometric data can be misused and why users deserve control over their own information.
Unfortunately, 20th-century laws rarely protect rights against 21st-century technology.
Privacy
In the U.S., the legality usually hinges on audio recording and whether there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” If someone is recording video and audio of a private conversation, they may be violating “all-party consent” (or “two-party consent”) laws.
The biggest hurdle with wearables is that in most states, you do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in public.
- Video: It is generally legal to film anyone in a public park, on a sidewalk, or in a grocery store without their permission.
- Audio: This is the gray area. Even in public, some states prohibit recording “confidential communications” (conversations where the parties believe they aren’t being overheard).
All-Party Consent States
In these states, everyone involved in a conversation must consent to being recorded. If someone is using AI glasses to record you in a setting where you expect privacy (like a one-on-one meeting or a private room), they could be breaking the law.
- California Audio and Video Recording Laws
- Delaware Recording Laws
- Florida Recording Laws
- Maryland Recording Laws
- Massachusetts Recording Laws
- New Hampshire Recording Laws
- Pennsylvania Recording Laws
- Washington Recording Laws
- Illinois Recording Laws – All-party consent with public place exception (2014)
- Montana Recording Laws – Notice required, not hidden recording
Mixed-Party Consent States
- Connecticut Recording Laws – One-party for in-person, two-party for phone
- Michigan Recording Laws – Effectively one-party per court ruling
- Nevada Recording Laws – One-party for oral, all-party for wire/electronic
- Oregon Recording Laws – Notice for in-person, one-party for electronic (2025 ruling)
BIPA
AI glasses don’t just “film”—they often use facial recognition or “gaze tracking.” Several states have Biometric Information Privacy Acts (BIPA) that require companies (and sometimes individuals) to get written consent before capturing your “face geometry” or other biometric data. It is unclear whether BIPA cover wearables in public situations.
Stop Being Creepy 