Meta has sold 7 million pairs of its Ray-Ban smart glasses, making them one of the fastest-growing consumer electronics, with Meta commanding an estimated 82% of the global smart glasses market. This success comes despite significant privacy backlash and concerns.
The glasses, which feature almost invisible cameras, have led to instances of individuals secretly filming unsuspecting women in public. These videos often gain online traction and abuse, with victims having little legal recourse as photography in public is generally considered legal. Some women who asked for their videos to be removed were told it was a "paid service."
Meta also faces multiple lawsuits and investigations related to privacy. Notably, a firm contracted by Meta to train its AI from glasses footage had Kenyan workers review graphic content, including sex, nudity, and people using toilets. This led to the termination of the contract and two lawsuits alleging that Meta misrepresented its privacy features, claiming videos were routed through a human review pipeline in Kenya despite marketing the glasses as "designed for privacy, controlled by you."
In response to privacy concerns and users tampering with the recording indicator, Meta announced an update that disables the camera if the privacy LED light is blocked or destroyed. Previously, blocking the light with tape would trigger a prompt, but modders found workarounds. Meta has also started removing ads and product listings for tampered glasses and banning offending accounts. Despite these efforts, authorities are being called upon to regulate the camera recording capabilities of these glasses in public and sensitive locations.
