Vancouver woman warns of unsolicited pictures taken at Wreck Beach

Wreck Beach is often seen as a welcoming and safe clothing-optional beach in Vancouver. But in recent years, beachgoers have reported seeing groups of people fully clothed and taking their photos without permission.

One woman CityNews spoke to says she recently felt unsafe as phone cameras faced her in every direction. Aly, who CityNews has agreed to use an alias for, says she felt exposed after a visit to the beach last Sunday, when she says she caught a group of young men filming other people.

“They kind of had the camera pointed in our direction. Then they turned it over to the other group, and they did it in a very sleek way where if you’re not really paying attention to what’s going on, they think they’re being sneaky,” she explained.

Aly says she is incredibly saddened by the whole experience, as the clothing-optional beach used to represent a place where one can be comfortable in their own skin — without it being on display.

“We’re being watched, we’re being recorded, and you just start to feel very unsafe in that moment,” she said.

Paul Brar, the division manager of regional parks for Metro Vancouver, says his team is aware of this photography problem but admits addressing it is no easy task.

“It is a concern that has been brought to our attention and is something that we are going to be actively and proactively looking at mitigating,” he told CityNews.

One beachgoer will be wary next time she goes to Wreck

He explains education and staff patrols are their main tools.

“Last summer, we put in some new signage to make it more visible about the etiquette rules. So, that was installed last summer and we’ve got a new set of signs this year,” he said. “Any situation where they’re feeling unsafe, they can contact our staff who are readily patrolling the site, or even though the UBC RCMP, which has jurisdiction over that area.”

But Aly says these measures are not enough, claiming the signs have no effect on keeping people’s phones tucked away.

“The signage didn’t stand out to me at all. I think they need to be bigger, they need to be more pronounced. The ‘no photographing’ is right next to the ‘no alcohol’ and the no other things that nobody pays attention to,” she said.

Aly adds while she doesn’t advocate for more police patrols at Wreck Beach, more needs to be done to stop the “sneaky photographers.” She says the next time she visits Wreck Beach, she will be on high alert.