The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has launched an inquiry into a Chinese smart glasses app maker after it failed to respond to questions about its safeguarding of personal data.

Shenzhen Qingcheng Future Technology’s HeyCyan mobile app is used with eyewear sold under different brand names by retailers including Amazon and Kmart.

The app is required to activate smart glasses features such as music and call answering, and using the software involves information being collected.

“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,” privacy commissioner Carly Kind said.

“The failure ... to respond to the OAIC’s inquiries raises concerns about the entity’s practices, procedures and systems to protect the personal information it holds ... In those circumstances, I considered it was important to commence an investigation so I could utilise my full range of powers to examine this issue, including issuing compulsory information gathering notices.”

From August 12, preliminary enquiries were made with manufacturers and distributors of smart glasses including the Chinese company, Meta, Kmart and Google. They were asked to clarify how the glasses work, including how they record information; who has access to that information; and where the information is stored.

The probe into Shenzhen Qingcheng comes as privacy concerns mount over the use of smart glasses, which Ms Kind has described as “surveillance wearables”.

She says the federal government plans to reform the Privacy Act in “some fundamental ways”, including to broaden the definition of personal information. 

“Given the gaps in Privacy Act coverage with respect to smart glasses, the Australian community is likely to find comfort that the proposed tranche 2 reforms will raise the bar for smart glasses collection,” Ms Kind said.

“These reforms are likely to become increasingly necessary as we face subsequent generations of surveillance wearables and connected devices, from personal assistant gadgets to ambient recording badges.”