Kmart has REMOVED its $89 Anko camera glasses from its Australian website, a DAY after the country’s privacy commissioner opened a FORMAL investigation into Shenzhen Qingcheng Future Technology, the Chinese developer of the HEYCYAN app the glasses rely on. The Sydney Morning Herald reports the camera model NO LONGER appears online, while a $39 pair of SPEAKER glasses with no camera stays on sale. Kmart has NOT EXPLAINED the move, and has not said whether the glasses are also gone from STORES or gone for good.
What changed, and what did not
The ANKO glasses shoot PHOTOS and VIDEO through a CAMERA built into the frame. Per the Herald, they went on sale on JULY 28 and SOLD OUT in less than a week, undercutting Meta’s Ray-Ban models by HUNDREDS of dollars. In August, Kmart described them as part of an “established and increasingly MAINSTREAM category” of wearable technology.
News Corp’s NewsWire, in a report carried by the Courier Mail, says the LISTINGS VANISHED in the HOURS after the commissioner’s announcement. Asked whether the glasses had been pulled, a Kmart spokesman DECLINED to comment and referred NewsWire to the Australian Retail Council. The Herald says it contacted Kmart and had no answer at publication.
That leaves the key FACTS unconfirmed. Nobody on the record has said whether unsold stock was taken off SHELVES, whether the change is PERMANENT, or what happens to BUYERS who already OWN a pair. The commissioner’s letter also went to sellers on Big W Marketplace and AMAZON, and NONE of the reports says those listings have changed. When we tried to check Kmart’s site directly, it BLOCKED our automated request, so the removal RESTS on the Herald and NewsWire accounts.
The regulator’s nudge
As we reported yesterday, Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind opened the PROBE after Shenzhen Qingcheng IGNORED her office’s preliminary inquiries. The Herald says those inquiries began on AUGUST 12, when her office started questioning Meta, Kmart, Google and Shenzhen Qingcheng at Attorney-General Michelle Rowland’s request. ONLY Shenzhen Qingcheng failed to respond.
“In the absence of ANY response from Shenzhen Qingcheng to the OAIC’s preliminary inquiries, I have NO assurance that it is protecting personal data of Australians as required by the Privacy Act,” Kind said. She has WRITTEN to retailers that sell HeyCyan devices, urging them to “consider whether it is appropriate to CONTINUE making these devices available.” An investigation is NOT a finding. It gives her COMPULSORY information-gathering powers, and she can seek CIVIL penalties in the FEDERAL COURT if she finds serious or repeated interferences with privacy.
The petition behind it
The removal also follows a GetUp petition started by ACTIVIST Gina Martin, who led the campaign that made upskirting a specific offence in England and Wales. It asks Kmart Group Managing Director Aleksandra Spaseska to withdraw the Anko glasses from STORES and the website. GetUp told the Herald that more than 57,000 MEMBERS joined.
GetUp’s credit comes with a CONDITION. “If they have decided to pull this product – and keep it off their shelves PERMANENTLY – they deserve credit,” interim chief executive Paul Ferris told the Herald. He told news.com.au that Kmart “deserves credit for pulling these DANGEROUS glasses from their stores, even if it shouldn’t have taken over 57,000 signatures.” That outlet also reports GetUp set up mock DISPOSAL stations for camera glasses at Sydney sites including BONDI Beach.
Why the budget tier is the target
Milica Stilinovic, a postdoctoral researcher on the University of Sydney’s Governing Immersive Tech project, told the Herald that CHEAPER glasses often come with questionable DATA-RETENTION practices and recording LIGHTS that are hard to see or MISSING altogether. Her team’s August research found that in INSTAGRAM videos where WOMEN appeared not to know they were being filmed, about 60 PERCENT of the interactions could be classed as potential HARASSMENT.
The PREMIUM end is UNTOUCHED for now. Meta has sold more than 7 MILLION pairs of its glasses, and the Herald notes they REMAIN on sale. Meta says every pair carries a WHITE light that FLASHES during recording and CANNOT be switched off without disabling the camera.
What to watch
RULES are arriving PIECEMEAL. Brisbane City Council has banned NON-CONSENSUAL filming with camera devices, including smart glasses, at its 21 public POOLS, and Yarra, the City of Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown have similar rules at pools and leisure centres. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has asked the Australian Public Service Commission whether the glasses should be banned in PUBLIC SERVICE workplaces.
CANBERRA is NOT planning an outright ban. Consultation on draft PRIVACY ACT reforms closed in mid-September, and the Herald says LEGISLATION is expected before the END of the YEAR. The Greens want a 12-month IMPORT ban on camera-enabled wearables, with an exemption for DISABILITY aids. The NEXT tests are whether Kmart CONFIRMS the withdrawal covers its stores, whether Big W Marketplace and Amazon sellers FOLLOW, and whether Shenzhen Qingcheng FINALLY answers the commissioner.
Sources: The Sydney Morning Herald, “Kmart’s $89 camera glasses removed from sale online amid privacy backlash” (Oct. 7, 2026 AEDT); Courier Mail / NewsWire, “Kmart smart glasses vanish from website”; news.com.au; GetUp petition; ABC News (Oct. 7, 2026 AEDT).