Ok, so if I wanted to walk through downtown on a pretty day and livestream that, it will have a bright light to let people know I am recording? I can't just do that subtly?

Yeah if you are recording, the new ones have a bright light (possibly flashing I'm not sure) on. Which makes sense really.

They offer better protection against "unsuspecting picture taking" than normal phones, as the light is vaguely tamper proof. I'm not sure they record if you take them off either.

I would think some paint could solve that problem or would that be detected?

The detection is pretty good.

but, my friend, why do you want to cover up the light?

Or a needle to pop the light.

I've worn GoPros around live streaming and people don't notice. Wearing these glasses with a little led on the frame 99.9% of people won't notice.