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AIPROPX ReportBusiness Insider · 1h ago
Burning Man tells AI glasses wearers: Don't be a creep, get permission to record
Burners are getting ready for their weeklong excursion to the Nevada desert. They're allowed to bring their Meta glasses, but the 2026 guidelines say they need to get permission to record. JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty Images
Burning Man organizers have published the 2026 survival guide.
In it, they say attendees (nicknamed "Burners") are allowed to bring smart glasses, but to be mindful of how they use them.
The guide says they should ask before recording others. On socials, some Burners are plotting how to get them barred.
Smart glasses are allowed at Burning Man 2026. Organizers say: Just don't be a creep about it.
"Before using any device — including cellphones, cameras, or smart eyewear — you must ask and receive permission from anyone who may appear in your frame, whether they are the main subject or in the background," Burning Man's 2026 Survival Guide says. "This applies to people's personal moments and their creative offerings alike."
A Burning Man Project spokesperson told Business Insider that its privacy and consent rules are not new, but that it recently updated its 2026 guidance to explicitly include smart eyewear as the technology has evolved. The guidance change is the latest example of how mainstream smart glasses are becoming — and the larger conversation they've driven around privacy.
"Burning Man Project places a high priority on participant privacy and ensuring that photography and media practices respect consent, personal boundaries, and the experience of everyone in Black Rock City," they said. The comment was earlier reported by Zara Stone , a reporter at The San Francisco Standard, on X.
Smart glasses like Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley AI glasses look much like regular eyewear but can pack cameras, microphones, speakers, and AI assistants into their frames.
They've won fans who say they make it easier to capture moments at eye level without clumsily reaching for a phone . But their discreet cameras have also fueled privacy concerns.
A white indicator light flashes while the glasses are recording, but people around the glasses don't always notice when they're being recorded. Some have tampered with the device to disable the indicator light, prompting Meta to release a forced update. Others have placed stickers over the light in an attempt to obscure it.
Meta has vowed to remove harassing content surreptitiously filmed by its glasses from its platforms, but Business Insider recently found dozens of such posts featuring harassment remained in the weeks after the crackdown was announced. Meta said it has removed thousands of pieces of violating content and later took down some of the videos after they were flagged by Business Insider.
Even singer-songwriter Lorde has weighed in on the polarizing glasses. During a July performance at Madrid's Mad Cool Festival — which was sponsored by Ray-Ban — she railed against AI glasses and told the crowd: "Don't get the glasses. Not sexy."
Some Burners feel similarly. In a recent Reddit thread titled "How do we ban Meta glasses at BM?," users talked about potentially shaming smart-glass wearers.
Burning Man 2026 runs from August 31 through September 7 in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.
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