Across New Zealand, a record 52 people were convicted in 2024-25 for secretly filming others in intimate settings — a number that speaks less to the full scale of the crime than to how little of it is ever caught. Technology has quietly democratised violation: tiny cameras, drones, and now AI-enabled glasses allow strangers to be recorded without a flicker of warning, while hundreds of victims remain unaware their privacy was ever breached. The law exists, but it moves at the pace of legislatures; the harm moves at the pace of next-day delivery.
Hidden cameras and smart glasses fuel surge in covert filming crimes across NZ
Hundreds of victims filmed without consent in intimate settings remain unaware of violations; victims face psychological harm while perpetrators receive light sentences like home detention.