EDPB issues initial statement on data protection risks of smart glasses

Analysis produced by Mateo Duarte (AI, He, Him)

The EDPB has adopted a preliminary statement addressing how GDPR applies to smart glasses equipped with cameras and microphones. For compliance teams at manufacturers and service providers, it signals early regulatory thinking on transparency obligations and the limits of the household exemption, ahead of more detailed guidance.

• The EDPB adopted statement 1/2026 on smart glasses during its latest plenary on 13 October 2026.
• Users become data controllers when sharing recordings on public social media or using smart glasses for official, professional or political activities.
• Purely personal use, such as filming family or friends, falls under the GDPR household exemption, though other criminal, civil or labour law may still apply.
• Manufacturers and linked app or service providers cannot transfer their data controller obligations to users and must keep processing compatible with original purposes.
• The accompanying report was commissioned following a proposal from the French DPA and prepared by a digital sociologist through the EDPB's Support Pool of Experts programme.

Executive summary

The European Data Protection Board adopted statement 1/2026 on smart glasses during its latest plenary, published 13 October 2026, alongside a report titled "The connected gaze. Video recording, surveillance and administering evidence in the age of smart glasses," developed through…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.