DuckDuckGo ‘Normal F***ing Sunglasses’ Sell Out

DuckDuckGo sold out its $35 ‘Normal F***ing Sunglasses’ in under a week after the product launched online on July 30. The camera- and electronics-free shades were produced with San Diego eyewear brand Knockaround and are available for preorder for a second production run.

The glasses use Knockaround’s Paso Robles frame in matte black with a blackout finish. Lenses are polarized with UV400 protection and FDA-compliant impact resistance. The product ships with a debossed hard case and a product listing that states: “No camera, no microphone, no AI, no battery, no electronics of any kind.”

DuckDuckGo highlighted the absence of electronics with marketing lines including “infinite charge life,” “seamless offline mode,” “zero notifications guaranteed” and “0% surveillance risk.”

The company reported a significant share of the initial inventory sold within days but did not disclose exact sales figures. The $35 pair cleared the first run in under a week and preorders opened after the stockout.

DuckDuckGo framed the eyewear as a privacy response to camera-equipped smart glasses that include cameras and always-on features. Tech journalist Tatum Hunter tweeted: “examples of people using smart glasses in unethical and frightening ways keep piling up,” and the company described the product as a camera-free wearable alternative.

Privacy concerns tied to camera-equipped eyewear include reports of covert filming of women and contractors reviewing sensitive footage. A class-action lawsuit has been filed over some smart-glass products, a coalition of civil liberties groups urged limits on adding facial recognition, a state attorney general opened an investigation, and some public events have banned certain devices.

In the past year DuckDuckGo polled its users on integrating generative AI into search and, with about nine in ten respondents opposing it, placed AI-generated answers on a separate opt-in page. Traffic to the company’s no-AI search page increased after rival search engines added AI-based answers, and DuckDuckGo released no-AI browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

The Knockaround collaboration allowed DuckDuckGo to sell a low-cost physical product that contains no cameras or electronics while highlighting privacy concerns. With the first run sold out and preorders open, the company is preparing the second production batch.