I have a GrapheneOS phone that I’ve been using for several months. I’m interested in pairing with with smart glasses so that I can watch videos (e.g. YouTube) while I’m out hiking, exercising, etc. I’m worried about the glasses and/or the apps that support them communicating information about me while I’m using them, especially data from the camera or microphone in the glasses. Are there any good options here?
No, and even if they were, you support a model that will/would make 24/7 surveillance the norm. So please don’t.
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Using smart glasses for anything is a bad idea. Hate that tech.
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I wouldn’t use smart glasses they can be privacy nightmare not just for you. But I would recommend listen to podcasts audiobooks, music and videos in the background.
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I was so disappointed to see this question was not about how we can protect ourselves from being surveilled by strangers wearing smart glasses.
pairing with with smart glasses so that I can watch videos (e.g. YouTube) while I’m out hiking, exercising, etc
Quite apart from being a privacy nightmare, I’d be concerned about safety – for you and the people around you – if you have YouTube playing on a screen in front of your face while you’re hiking on uneven terrain or walking/running/cycling near traffic. This is a much greater level of distraction than just listening to music or podcasts.
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To actually address OP’s question - I’ve heard of MentraOS which is an open source smart glasses OS. No personal experience with it and idk exactly how private it is. They have a list of supported devices here:
I have to say I’m pretty disappointed at the previous respondents for being so dismissive. There are very legitimate use cases for smart glasses. I think it’s incredibly foolish to write off this category of tech just because of the privacy invasions of many of the existing options. It has many valid use cases. As an example - the potential for improved accessibility for deaf people/those with hearing loss using real time subtitles is truly amazing.
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Thank you all for the responses.
First, I’m not a troll. I’m hoping for a civil discussion.
Sme people are asking why I want to watch YT with glasses. I want to optimize my time. I want to keep my body healthy at the gym or hiking, but my mind is idle. I can find many university lectures online and I learn much better with visual information than audio.
I understand some of the privacy risks with smart glasses. I wish that I could buy glasses with no camera or microphone or find some way to disable them. We have cameras and microphones in our Graphene phones but the OS let’s us disable them.
I think that the privacy community is doing a great job at giving us technology that allows us to use smartohones while minimizing privacy risks. I hope that someday we can have something similar for glasses, because there is a benefit to them for some use cases.
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Hey there, and welcome to the forum man! I’m glad that you are here.
To answer, I apologize that I’m not currently in possession of any knowledge for smart glasses. However, what I can tell you is that there are some brands of smart glasses that can let you connect to your phone and let you be able to interact with it hands-free. For instance, there are these smart glasses from a company called Rayneo that you can buy on Amazon like the ones that come up from Amazon search here.
I hope this might help you out a even little bit, and I wish you the best of luck on finding something that works the best for your use case.
Most place have a phone support. And there are also accessories to put your phone anywhere.
Try to enjoy it. Walking without any form of media has proven benefits. If you even listen to a podcast those diminish. We live in a time where we are (almost) always connected. Taking breaks is worth it.
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I would suggest reading “Solitude” by Michael Harris. There is nothing wrong with an idle mind at times. In fact, it is necessary.
I will echo others - please don’t go down that dystopian road.
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