Man used his Meta glasses to secretly film people on the subway — until a woman stepped in and smashed them
In a space where commuters already guard their privacy, Meta glasses made people question the idea behind the creation of glasses. Yes, they look normal like any other glasses, but they can record video and do much more, turning everyday riders into participants who don’t even know that they are in it. The discussion on glasses again started recently when a viral moment took place. A New York subway female passenger was accused of breaking a man’s Meta AI glasses and was immediately titled as a queen and hero by people who feel uncomfortable with the idea of this gadget.
Ethan (as @eth8n_____ on TikTok) posted a clip gaining more than 2.9 million views. In the clip, he holds the two broken pieces of his eyewear while fellow passengers laugh in the background. "She was like 12 feet away from me and I wasn’t addressing her, I was just making sounds that I and others thought was hilarious for a video to post," he wrote. "There were so many different routes one could take instead of breaking someone else’s $300 glasses such as asking nicely not to post it or blur my face."
He added, "What she did was assault, can get arrested for it if I see her again and felt like it. I filed a claim with the police and it’s a misdemeanor charge." He also asked viewers for help in finding the woman, but has not shared any updates on that yet, per Daily Dot.
Yet the internet wasted no time picking sides and overwhelmingly, it supported the woman and praised her. Some even questioned the man. Many online viewers argued she simply acted on the frustration that countless subway riders have pointed out, but never dared to follow through. The glasses’ quiet-recording feature has long been criticized as a surveillance threat that opens the door for harassment disguised as content creation.
Comments poured in on the TikToker's video. With just one glance at the woman, people began comparing her looks to Tilda Swinton. @itsme.tonyp said: "Pretty sure that’s Tilda Swinton." Others focused on why they felt her reaction was justified. @litwa492 wrote, "Y’all need to chill with the meta glasses ofc ppl gonna get mad." Another user, @princess3687g, summed up the sentiment bluntly: "good, people are tired of being filmed by strangers."
Despite the backlash against Ethan’s use of the glasses, the technology itself isn’t completely villainous. The smart-glasses market has expanded rapidly and Meta’s Ray-Ban models have been at the center of that momentum. While negative experiences are there for sure but the glasses have alot more potential than just filming. It totally depends on how you want to use it. As noted by the National Library of Medicine, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses represent a promising tool for individuals with visual impairments, offering assistive features that could significantly improve independence and quality of life.
Still, this subway moment highlights the growing discomfort around being recorded in public, with a phone you can see, but with glasses that look like everyday eyewear. It also revealed how careful people are about their personal boundaries in a world where technology is all around them.