# ZuckOff

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/zuckoff/

14 people recommended ZuckOff in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 16 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 12 months, in 1 thread. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

14 of the 14 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “ZuckOff is a free app that sees Meta glasses before they see you”.

**Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it. Detects nearby Meta smart glasses over Bluetooth so you know when one is in the room. Critics distrust its AI-assisted code, paid upsells, and data collection.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Vibecoded, AI-generated look and code (6 comments in the sample): "I get a "buy merch" popup the moment I open the page…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49785789)) "Cool idea, but why not spend 5 minutes to tell Claude to generate something besides the default AI UI style for your app?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49785758)) "there's no reason, (if you know better) to use the vibe coded sketchy software" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786365))
- Pushy purchases, pay-to-rank, cash grab (3 comments in the sample): "In-app purchases" for "$9.99 - $24.99 per item", which is more of a turnoff for me personally." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49790508)) "ZuckOff is paying to rank above NearbyGlasses." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49787267)) "which is a cash grab slop fest" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49798211))
- Accused of adware, spyware, data collection (2 comments in the sample): "this app in question seems to actually contain adware and spyware" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49788030)) "ZuckOff collects app activity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786891))
- Easily defeated or limited detection (1 comment in the sample): "It only works while the glasses are in pairing mode." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786310))

## Why people recommend it

- Strong name and branding (3 comments in the sample): "ZuckOff" is a better quality marketing name for an app like this" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786190)) "The name is also much more engaging." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49787689)) "ZuckOff is amazing branding." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786077))
- Well-packaged, polished app (2 comments in the sample): "ZuckOff is just a better packaged app, that's why it took off." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786607)) "a product thoughtfully written by a human with LLM assistance" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49787793))
- Useful for detecting glasses (2 comments in the sample): "It’s a nice app.  I was surprised to see 400+ other Bluetooth devices in range." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49802650)) "for me it's definitely useful" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49786373))

## What people recommend instead

- [Loupe iOS app](https://hackerapproved.com/p/loupe-ios-app/): 9 recommend, 1 mixed, 1 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "ZuckOff", https://hackerapproved.com/p/zuckoff/ (14 recommend, 2 mixed, 16 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.