I asked Andi
Recent advances in facial recognition technology have sparked development of various counter-surveillance clothing and accessories. These anti-surveillance methods fall into several key categories:
Physical Alterations and Clothing
- Patterned clothing with complex designs that confuse facial recognition algorithms[^4]
- Reflective materials that bounce back infrared light used by security cameras[^4]
- Special scarves and hoodies designed to break up facial features[^4]
- The "Camera Shy Hoodie" with embedded IR LEDs that overexpose security camera footage[^14]
- Cap_Able brand clothing with patterns designed to deceive recognition systems[^16]
Technical Solutions
- Infrared LED glasses that blind facial recognition cameras while remaining invisible to human eyes[^4]
- Anti-surveillance devices that emit signals to interfere with camera sensors[^4]
- Reflectacles privacy eyewear that blocks IR cameras[^8]
Professional Applications
- Small reflective dot stickers used for motion tracking and high-speed camera detection[^1]
- Camera obscura techniques used by photographers and artists[^11]
Law Enforcement Concerns
- Police forces are expanding use of facial recognition vans and technology[^7][^13]
- Civil liberties groups argue the technology shows racial bias and privacy concerns[^9]
- West Yorkshire's Crime Commissioner states that facial recognition data "will not be stored"[^7]
Sources:
[^1]: Amazon - Golf Club & Golf Ball Reflective Dot Stickers [^4]: Luxand - How to Fool and Avoid Facial Recognition in Public Places [^7]: BBC - 'Facial recognition can make mistakes, it's not a decision-maker' [^8]: Reflectacles - Ghost Privacy Eyewear & Sunglasses [^9]: Yahoo/Telegraph - Facial recognition cameras at Notting Hill Carnival 'are racially biased' [^11]: Wikipedia - Camera obscura [^13]: Facebook - Digital face recognition camera van in Albany Rd [^14]: Mac Pierce - The Camera Shy Hoodie [^16]: Maker Faire Rome - Fabric to deceive facial recognition systems