Chinese factory workers accidentally caught on camera glasses

Factory workers who helped make a Chinese-brand of camera glasses appear to have been unknowingly filmed by the devices in accidental videos.

7.30 bought a pair of budget glasses made by Shenzhen-based company Oho Sunshine online and found footage already on the device, which appears to be from inside the factory.

The collection of four short videos, dated last year, shows a number of workers sitting at their desks inspecting the glasses, while listening to jaunty electronic music.

One video clearly identifies a worker lifting a pair and shaking them vigorously.

Another three videos, up to 10 minutes long and dated this year, show only black with atmospheric audio, suggesting the glasses were activated while inside a case or box.

The shoot button on the side of the frames is sensitive and easily switched on.

7.30 approached Oho Sunshine, with questions about the apparent privacy breach but received no response.

Oho Sunshine was founded in 2009 in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guandong province, north of Hong Kong, as a smart wearable technologies manufacturer, according to the company's website.

The accidental leak perhaps proves not even the workers who make camera glasses are safe from being filmed and provides a rare insight into the globalised production chain.

Camera glasses are enjoying a surge in popularity as cheap brands flood the market. Oho is just one of numerous companies manufacturing similar devices.

They look like ordinary glasses and allow you to record video and audio, largely without people knowing.

While some models have a built-in light to indicate filming, there are now services that remove the indicator cheaply.

The glasses can play music and make calls, with more high-tech versions allowing users to live-stream or swipe through messages on a display in the lenses.

Meta's fashionable Ray-Ban smart glasses can cost up to $700 a pair, but basic versions can be bought online for as little as $40.