Balancing Kindness and Privacy: Be My Eyes’ CEO Speaks Out

Be My Eyes CEO Mike Buckley joins Steven Scott and Shaun Preece to address privacy concerns, social media misuse, and volunteer guidelines for the Be My Eyes platform, including the rare incidents of calls being shared online.

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In this episode of Double Tap, Steven and Shaun speak with Mike Buckley about two major topics affecting the Be My Eyes community.

First, they discuss the controversy around a small number of volunteers recording calls with blind users and posting them to TikTok, highlighting why this behaviour is dehumanising, violates Be My Eyes’ Terms of Service, and how the company is responding with takedowns, monitoring, and volunteer education.

They also explore the debate surrounding a blind runner who has suggested he used Be My Eyes for navigation while running a marathon. Mike clarifies the company’s stance on navigation use, safety, and media messaging, reinforcing that encouragement—not real-time navigation—is the intended purpose. Throughout, the episode balances the celebration of human kindness with the responsibility of protecting user privacy and setting clear boundaries for volunteer behaviour.

Relevant Links
Be My Eyes: https://www.bemyeyes.com
Community Email for Reporting Issues: [email protected]
Fight for Sight: https://www.fightforsight.org.uk