A Target employee said she was harassed and recorded by two customers wearing Meta Ray‑Ban smart glasses during a price‑check request, leading to police involvement and a video that amassed hundreds of thousands of views on social media.

The glasses include a camera that records when the wearer activates a recording function, indicated by an LED light. Critics note that the capability can capture individuals without their knowledge, creating privacy concerns for workers who interact with the public.

The employee, identified only as Mia Hinkle, described the encounter as unsettling and said she felt "a pit in my stomach." She called a manager, and the customers continued to misgender her and repeat the price request. After the video was posted, it received over 400,000 views on Instagram and 155,000 on TikTok.

A Seattle cashier, who asked to be identified only by her first name, reported that up to ten customers per hour wore the glasses and filmed her, expressing discomfort about the difficulty of knowing when recording was occurring.

Jennifer, a Sprouts grocery store employee who requested anonymity, said she was asked to wear Meta glasses by her manager and, after learning the device could record without clear workplace policy, resigned.

Meta said the glasses display a blinking light when recording and that it is working on features that disable recording if the light is covered. The company also announced removals of thousands of harassing videos and blocked related hashtags.

Woodrow Hartzog, a law professor at Boston University, said US privacy law generally assumes reduced expectations of privacy in public spaces, but that workplace policies are the main protection against smart‑glass recording. He recommended clear policies prohibiting the use of such devices.

The spread of continuously recording smart glasses raises questions about employee privacy, data security, and whether existing regulations will adapt to the technology.