Name: Women secretly filmed with new tech: BBC Learning English from the News
Uploaded: 2026-02-04T17:06:52.000Z
Duration: 8 min 22 s
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Adverbs of manner

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines in this program, how some men are using tech to secretly film women and make money.

In this program, we look at one big story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode, as well as a worksheet on our website, bbclearningenglish.com let's hear more about this story.

A BBC investigation has found that some men are secretly filming women in the evening, having fun with their friends in city centres where there are lots of bars, restaurants, restaurants and nightclubs.

They then post these videos online to make money.

These videos have been described as walking tours of major cities worldwide, including London, Oslo, Miami and Bangkok.

However, most of these videos focus on women in dresses and skirts.

Many are filmed from a lower angle under their clothing.

One of the most popular locations is Manchester.

Some men from around the world, including Sweden, Norway and Monaco, were found by the BBC to have travelled to the UK specifically to make this type of video.

It's not against the law in the UK to film people in public spaces, but

a lawyer referred to in a BBC article said that this particular type of filming could be considered a crime.

The BBC has identified more than 65 online channels with videos of women secretly filmed across multiple social media platforms.

TikTok has removed four channels, YouTube has closed two accounts, but

several remain and videos on Facebook and Instagram are still available.

Men covertly filming women at night and profiting from footage.

This headline draws attention to how men are filming women on nights out to make money.

What can you tell us about this word, Neil?

So the first part you can see the word cover, which means to hide something.

If you do something covertly, you're doing it secretly or in a way that's hidden.

So why are they saying it's done covertly and not privately?

Well, they do, sort of, but it's important to think about the context which we're seeing this in.

Privately means doing something that other people don't know about.

But doing something covertly means deliberately trying to hide something that others probably won't approve of.

So with this story, we're talking about women who have been filmed, who haven't agreed to being filmed.

These women did not give permission to being filmed.

And just a note about this word covertly used in the headline.

It's an adverb, but there is an adjective form as well which is covert.

And so we can say that this type of filming is covert filming.

We've had covertly to do something secretly or hidden.

For example, the Secret Service covertly recorded government conversations.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about secret filming of women.

Another investigation showed that new technology is also being used to secretly film women.

Men have been recording women using Meta's new wearable camera, the Meta glasses.

Meta is the tech company that owns digital platforms Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Meta told the BBC its glasses have a light that activates whenever someone records or takes pictures.

But the BBC has seen several videos online showing how the light can be covered or easily switched off.

Because of this, women have reported being approached by men wearing the glasses and most didn't know that the conversations were being recorded.

Let's have our next headline which talks a little bit about this.

This headline is from the Independent, a British news organisation.

Hit on, then shamed inside the world of men who use smart glasses to secretly film women.

That headline again from the Independent.

Hit on, then shamed Inside the world of men who use smart glasses to secretly film women.

This headline highlights how men are using smart glasses to film women without their knowing.

We're interested in this phrasal verb, hit on.

So to hit on someone doesn't mean to physically hit them.

It's a phrasal verb which means to show romantic interest in someone.

So if a person hits on someone, they start a conversation and try to get a romantic relationship going, for example, by getting their number or organizing a date.

This headline is from an article about a woman's experience where someone hit on her and secretly filmed it with the glasses and then put it online.

There are other social media accounts with similar videos called pick up content and this verb, pick up, has a similar meaning, to hit on.

It means approaching and speaking to someone to try to start a romantic relationship.

We've had hit on to start speaking to someone and show that you are romantically interested in them.

For example, she asked for my phone number, so I asked her if she was hitting on me.

This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about how women feel unsafe and Uncomfortable when being recorded by new secret technology.

A report by the BBC from earlier in the year explains how the smart glasses are being used to film women, which makes them feel embarrassed and that their privacy has been invaded.

One woman said that she had no idea that she was being filmed until the video posted online gained about a million views and hundreds of comments, most of which she described as extremely disrespectful.

Often, women only really become aware of what has happened once the video has gone viral, which means lots of people have viewed it.

I was secretly filmed with smart glasses and then trolled online.

This headline tells us what happens after covert videos of women are posted.

Now, to troll means to leave an intentionally offensive or annoying message on the Internet to upset someone or to get attention or a reaction.

So in this story, people write comments on the videos where the women are secretly filmed which are upsetting.

In the headline, the word troll is used as a verb, but

you might also hear it in its gerund form, trolling.

And we can refer to the person who does the trolling as a troll.

We've had troll to leave offensive or annoying comments on the Internet to upset someone.

For example, the athlete was trolled online after they lost in the final.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you've enjoyed this program, try our Learning English Grammar podcast.

You can find all the episodes@bbclearningenglish.com and follow us on social media.