YouTuber goes 'invisible' to America's army of cameras with his $2,000+ anti-surveillance device

The $3,000 anti-surveillance device - YouTube The $3,000 anti-surveillance device - YouTube
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— The $3,000 anti-surveillance device

After draping a white sheet over himself to baffle surveillance cameras didn't exactly go to plan, YouTuber Chris the Producer has taken a different tact: slapping a giant TV on his back.

The setup involves a chest-mounted action camera, a tactical backpack with frame mounting system, and a "massive TV" which is fitted to the backpack in front of an industrial battery pack that sits between the two. The camera streams to the TV at the back, displaying just whatever is in front of you:

"It's essentially a giant backpack with a camera on one side that live streams to the TV mounted on my back, therefore obscuring my body and face, making me entirely invisible."

I'm not sure about that "entirely invisible" part, but if it "works pretty well on dogs" which are "basically the same thing" as surveillance cameras, then who am I to say?

If you want to make one yourself, he does break down the cost:

  • GoPro with chest mount and cords: $400
  • TV (stolen from family): $250
  • North Face backpack: $110
  • Super-heavy New Yeti 1500 battery pack: $1,500

According to the appropriately succinct video description, this "kinda set me back a bit but I did evade surveillance cameras for a few hours." The YouTuber does note the ideal setup would be to have it double-sided, however, so you don't have to keep your back to the cameras. That's what bumps up the cost to about $3,000.

What do you think, worth the money? I'll probably stick to just avoiding leaving my apartment instead—the big brain solution. Cameras can't see what isn't there. Just doing my part to combat the ever-encroaching panopticon. Wait, what do you mean they're encroaching digitally, too? To the fields we go, I guess.

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Jacob Fox
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Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

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