Android · Wear OS

Smart glasses detector for Android & Wear OS

Nearby Lens alerts you when camera glasses like Ray-Ban Meta are nearby — and on Android it keeps doing that in the background, after reboots, and from a standalone Wear OS watch.

Available on Google Play · Android 8.0+ · Wear OS 3+

What you get on Android

Background detection that actually stays on. Android lets a detector run as a foreground service, so Nearby Lens keeps scanning with the screen off, through Doze, and after a reboot — something iPhone apps in this category can't fully do.

One-tap control and a standalone watch app. Home-screen widget, Quick Settings tile, and a Wear OS app that scans from your wrist without your phone. $1.99 once, no subscription, no account.

Built for how Android works

Foreground-service scanning

Detection runs as a proper Android foreground service with a visible notification, not a background job the system can quietly kill. It survives Doze, app switching and a locked screen, and restarts the Bluetooth scanner on a schedule to get around Android's 30-minute scan throttle.

Resumes after reboot

If scanning was on when your phone restarted, it comes back on by itself. You don't have to remember to reopen the app.

Widget and Quick Settings tile

Start or stop scanning from the home screen or the notification shade without opening the app — useful when you walk into a meeting, a clinic or a changing room.

Sensitivity you control

Choose how strict alerts are, how often the same device can re-alert, and whether alerts vibrate. Strict mode only alerts on strong matches, which cuts false positives in busy places.

Wear OS: detection on your wrist

The Wear OS app uses the watch's own Bluetooth radio, so it keeps detecting with your phone left in a bag, out of range, or switched off. A tile starts and stops scanning with one swipe, and detections — brand, confidence and estimated distance — show up right on the watch face side of the screen.

It runs the same detection rules as the phone app, including over-the-air updates for new glasses models, so a given pair scores the same on your wrist as in your pocket.

What it detects

Nearby Lens recognises camera-equipped eyewear that broadcasts Bluetooth Low Energy while worn — Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta, Snap Spectacles, Vuzix and XREAL among others, plus the wave of Android XR glasses from Samsung, Gentle Monster and Warby Parker as they ship. The detection rules update over the air, so new models get recognised without waiting for an app update.

Want the details of how this works? Read how smart glasses detection works, or how to tell if a pair is recording.

What it can't do

  • Hidden cameras: anything that doesn't broadcast Bluetooth — a wired pinhole camera, for example — is invisible to this method.
  • Confirm recording: it tells you camera glasses are near, not whether they are filming. The glasses' own LED does that.
  • Ordinary glasses: prescription or reading glasses have no radio, so there's nothing to detect.
  • Bluetooth-off glasses: if the wearer turns Bluetooth off, no BLE scanner can see them.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a smart glasses detector for Android?
Yes. Nearby Lens is on Google Play for Android 8.0 and later. It scans for the Bluetooth Low Energy signal that camera glasses like Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta and Snap Spectacles broadcast while worn, and alerts you with the brand, a confidence score and an estimated distance. It costs $1.99 once, with no subscription or account.
Does it keep scanning when the app is closed?
Yes. On Android, scanning runs as a foreground service with a persistent notification, keeps running through Doze and with the screen off, and resumes automatically after a reboot if it was on before. Some manufacturers (Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus and others) add their own battery optimisation; the app shows a card to exempt it if detection stops in the background.
Does Nearby Lens work on Wear OS watches?
Yes. The Wear OS app scans with the watch's own Bluetooth radio, so it works standalone without the phone nearby. It includes a tile for one-swipe start and stop and shows detections directly on the watch. It installs from Google Play on Wear OS 3 and later watches such as Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch.
Will it drain my battery?
Bluetooth Low Energy scanning is designed to be low power, and the app uses hardware scan filters so the radio only wakes the app for advertisements that could be smart glasses. Expect a modest, steady draw rather than a spike. You can stop scanning from the widget, the Quick Settings tile or the notification at any time.
Why did it flag my headphones or TV?
Bluetooth manufacturer IDs belong to companies, not individual products, so a device from the same parent company can share an ID with smart glasses. Nearby Lens scores confidence instead of giving a flat yes or no, marks uncertain matches, and has a Strict sensitivity mode that only alerts on strong matches.
Does it need location permission or an account?
No account, ever. On Android 12 and later, detection only needs the Nearby devices (Bluetooth) permission. On Android 11 and earlier, the OS itself requires location permission for any Bluetooth scan. Location is otherwise optional and only used to tag where a detection happened in your on-device history. Device identifiers are hashed on the device, and nothing is uploaded.

Related

Best smart glasses detector apps (2026)How Nearby Lens compares with Glasses Radar, Zuckoff and Nearby Glasses on Android Nearby Lens on iPhone and Apple WatchThe same detection engine on Apple devices

Get Nearby Lens for Android

Phone and Wear OS from one Google Play listing. $1.99 once — no subscription, no account, nothing leaves your device.

Get it onGoogle PlayDownload on theApp Store