When it comes to the privacy of smart glasses, two sensors are what matter: the camera and the microphone. How a pair of glasses handles both decides how comfortable you — and those around you — feel with them.
The decisive question: camera or no camera
The biggest privacy difference lies not in the brand but in the type. Camera glasses record video and take photos from a first-person perspective. That’s handy for footage but delicate for those around you: in meetings, schools, surgeries, changing rooms or on public transport, bystanders often can’t tell whether a recording is being made. Display glasses take the opposite path — they show the wearer information and do without a camera entirely.
The Even G2 has no camera and makes no photo or video recordings.
It looks like an ordinary pair of glasses; the display is visible only to the person wearing them.
For features such as voice commands, Even AI and real-time translation, audio is processed technically — secretly recording or publishing conversations is not the purpose.
What about the microphone?
Display glasses need microphones too — otherwise there would be no voice control, no translation and no live transcription. What matters is the difference between processing and recording and publishing: for the feature to work, spoken language is turned into text or commands, often with the help of the paired smartphone or the cloud. That’s something quite different from a permanent, secret recording. Exactly how a manufacturer processes, stores and protects audio data is set out in its app and privacy policy — check that before you buy.
Privacy in Switzerland and the EU
In Switzerland the revised Data Protection Act (revDSG) applies, and in the EU the GDPR. For you as a user, that means you should know which data the glasses or the app collect, where they are processed (smartphone, servers, possibly abroad) and what rights you have. Because AI features are often cloud-based, data can leave Switzerland — reputable providers disclose this openly. How we ourselves handle your data on this website is set out in our privacy policy.
Consideration in everyday life: a fair approach
Regardless of the technology, the principle holds: anyone who records should inform those around them and respect personal rights. This is exactly where the camera-free Even G2 plays to its strength — because nothing is filmed, that uncertainty never arises in the first place. You can read along in meetings, translate and navigate without the person opposite having to wonder whether a camera is running.
You’ll find more on the differences between device types in the comparison; the fundamentals are explained in What are AI glasses?. If you’d like to experience the camera-free G2 for yourself, you’re welcome at the Zürich showroom.
Note: this article offers general orientation and not legal advice. What is authoritative are the respective current details from the manufacturer Even Realities and the applicable data protection laws.