The connected gaze. Video recording, surveillance and administering evidence in the age of smart glasses
This document was not produced by the EDPB.
It was prepared by external contractors as part of the SPE programme. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the EDPB.
Downloadable documents
The SPE (Support Pool of Experts) report, “The connected gaze. Video recording, surveillance and administering evidence in the age of smart glasses”, presents the findings of a qualitative study carried out as part of the SPE project. The study focuses on expected use cases for smart glasses.
Smart glasses were initially presented by manufacturers as tools for productivity and hands-free entertainment. However, the study shows that their actual uses reveal more complex dynamics. Based on qualitative interviews, this report analyses how these devices are perceived by society and to what extent they reveal social and ethical differences. This sociological research shows that connected glasses reactivate the panoptic imagination: the idea of being watched or monitored. In this way, smart glasses become tools for observing others, anticipating deviance and gathering evidence. Moreover, people’s ability to understand and use these technologies is very unequal. This reflects differences in digital skills and social background and highlighting power relations between the “observer” and the “observed”.
The EDPB launched this project in the context of the Support Pool of Experts programme.
The project was completed by the external expert Dr Yann BRUNA, Associate Professor and sociologist at the University of Paris-Nanterre, in September 2026.
Objective
The French DPA, CNIL, had already carried out a quantitative study among the French population on this topic. The objective of this project was to complement that work with a qualitative study, in order to help the EDPB better understand the expectations of both users and non-users of smart glasses and their level of acceptance in society.
Smart glasses are also of particular interest to the G7 DPA Roundtable, which was hosted by the French DPA this year. The findings of the study were also presented during the CNIL Privacy Research Day, organised in connection with the G7 DPA Roundtable meeting.