As discussed in a recent blog, META smart glasses have already raised difficult questions about covert recording, privacy and the use of technology to facilitate abuse. Now, rumoured reports suggest that Apple is developing a new generation of AirPods incorporating cameras and artificial intelligence. Although Apple has not officially announced this new product, reports indicate that prototypes have reached an advanced stage of development.

The reported technology is not necessarily designed to allow users to take conventional photographs or videos. Instead, the cameras are understood to be intended to give Apple's artificial intelligence systems a form of “visual intelligence” allowing Siri to understand what the wearer is looking at and respond to questions about their surroundings.

That may sound less intrusive than a pair of headphones capable of recording video, however, from an abuse and safeguarding perspective, it raises questions such as, what happens when a device worn almost constantly can see, hear and process the world around its wearer without the people around them knowing what it is doing?

The debate around Meta's smart glasses has largely focused on the possibility of covert photography and filming. However adding in camera-equipped AirPods to this controversy adds increasing concerns and could change the nature of that debate.

What are the rumours?

The reported cameras are expected to be relatively low resolution and intended primarily to provide visual information to AI. The purpose is apparently to allow the device to recognise objects, understand the wearer's surroundings and provide context-sensitive assistance rather than to replace a conventional camera.

For example, a wearer might be able to ask their AI assistant what is in front of them, receive assistance navigating their surroundings, or obtain information about an object they are looking at. Of course, these new features could have significant benefits for users, however the same technology could also be present when the wearer enters somebody else's home, attends a medical appointment, visits a school, enters a changing room, or interacts with someone in a position of vulnerability. The person being observed may not know that the device is capable of interpreting what it sees, and this is where the technology starts to pose problematic situations and questions.

What if the technology is misused?

Of course, it is important to point out that not every use of a camera-equipped wearable will amount to unlawful conduct. Taking a photograph in a public place is not, by itself, generally unlawful. Nor would the mere possession of a device containing a camera automatically make its use abusive.

However, the legal position changes according to what the device is being used to capture, whose information is being captured, where it happens, what the person using the device intends to do with that information and what happens to it afterwards.

Existing criminal law already deals with certain forms of voyeurism and intimate-image abuse, and we have seen in recent times that the law is continuing to change in this area to keep up with the times. Most notably, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces new offences relating to the taking or recording of intimate photographs or films without consent, including circumstances where the conduct is intended to cause alarm, distress or humiliation or is carried out for sexual gratification. It also creates offences concerning equipment installed or adapted to facilitate certain forms of intimate-image abuse.

This is important because the law is beginning to recognise that the act of creating an image can itself be abusive, rather than focusing solely on what happens after an image has been shared. And wearable AI raises questions that go beyond traditional concepts of photography and so it is vital that the law continues to keep up with the ever evolving world of technology before we see victims impacted because it was too slow to keep up.

Information Commissioner's Office

The Information Commissioner's Office has already recognised that connected and smart devices can create particular risks in domestic abuse and stalking situations.

The ICO's latest guidance also emphasises that privacy should be built into smart products from the outset, with meaningful consent, transparency, data minimisation and appropriate security measures.

Are manufacturers responsible for the misuse of the technology?

This is perhaps the biggest question raised by the development of AI-enabled wearables. Apple, like other technology companies, may design its products with privacy protections intended to prevent misuse. But can a manufacturer realistically anticipate every way in which a product might be used to facilitate abuse?

And where a product is deliberately designed to perceive and interpret the environment around its wearer, should manufacturers have particular responsibilities towards the people who may be observed by that technology but have never agreed to use it?

These questions become even more complicated where the technology is used in organisations working with children or vulnerable adults.

Schools, care providers, healthcare settings, charities and other organisations may need to consider whether their safeguarding policies adequately address increasingly sophisticated wearable technology.

The ICO has already identified the particular privacy risks associated with connected devices and emphasised the need for privacy-by-design, transparency and meaningful control.

What can I do if I believe technology has been used to monitor or record me?

If you believe that wearable video recording/AI technology, a phone, smart device or another form of technology has been used to monitor, record, intimidate or abuse you, you may be able to make a civil claim for compensation.

The legal position will depend on the circumstances, including what happened, who was involved, what information was obtained and how it was used.

Our specialist team of abuse lawyers are here to help you. Contact Hannah Hodgson at Hannah.hodgson@switalskis.com and Danielle Vincent at Danielle.vincent@switalskis.com today for a free, non-obligatory and confidential chat.