ZuckOff Know when a camera is in the room

488 points · 205 comments on HN · read original →

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ZuckOff is a mobile app that detects nearby camera glasses by listening for their Bluetooth signatures.

The app flags Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta, Snap Spectacles, and similar hardware by manufacturer Bluetooth signatures (e.g., 0x0D53 for Luxottica). It shows evidence for each detection, logs all Bluetooth devices, allows marking owned pairs to suppress alerts, and supports background alerts, widgets, live activities, and CSV export. It cannot detect quiet devices or guarantee recording is happening.

The app is independent and accepts hardware loans to improve detection. Merchandise is sold via Fourthwall to support development.

What commenters are saying

Commenters largely applauded the name and concept. A dominant thread debated whether the app could face legal challenges from Meta, with some arguing Zuck is thin-skinned and litigious, others that it won't register. A technical discussion covered spoofing risk: an ESP32 can mimic the Bluetooth signatures, but modifying real glasses firmware is impractical. Some proposed a 'do-not-film-me' standard; others countered that such technical fixes cannot solve social norms. Police playing copyrighted music to thwart recordings was cited as a parallel concern.