Meta AI Glasses Get Privacy Update to Stop Hidden Recording After LED Light Bypass

Meta tweaks AI glasses to block some creepy recordings, but privacy risks remain

Meta is rolling out an obvious fix to make its AI glasses less creepy amid backlash over the glasses' non-consensual recordings that have flooded the Internet. On Friday, The Verge reported that Meta closed a loophole that made it easy for smart-glasses users to cover up an LED light that is supposed to alert bystanders that the device is actively recording. Meta had previously deactivated recording if a user attempted to start capturing video after placing a sticker over the light, but people quickly learned that they could get around that by reversing the order of the steps and covering up the light after they started recording. In a post on Threads, Meta's executive vice president of wearables, Alex Himel, explained that an update would be rolled out soon that ensures that "the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording." That way "the capture LED can reliably alert bystanders when photos or videos are being captured for someone's gallery," Himel said. According to Himel, "only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections, and the fact they have to go to these lengths shows our efforts are working. We'll keep improving and evolving our approach." However, bad actors may still be able to mod the glasses or tamper with the light without impacting recordings. And it's unclear if popular bypasses, like using semi-transparent stickers that make the light less noticeable, would block recording under Meta's new safeguard. Data regulators in the European Union are currently probing privacy concerns with Meta's glasses and have suggested that Meta may not have properly field-tested the LED light to ensure that the public would understand its safety functionality. Germany is considering banning the glasses after a nonprofit filed a criminal complaint alleging that they breach Germany's strict privacy laws, Politico reported. And Germany is not alone, as many countries in the EU mull a crackdown on the technology, which they see as invasive and carrying a risk of expanding mass surveillance. Another Politico report confirmed that the European Data Protection Board will release a report later this summer to decide what actions should be taken to ensure no one in the EU is recorded without their consent. Meanwhile, there's a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit advancing in the US that accuses Meta of continually lying about privacy risks in the marketing of its AI glasses. Meta has yet to file a response in that litigation, but in its statements and marketing campaigns, the tech giant continues to insist the glasses are designed with privacy in mind. Privacy risks remain, users say In addition to the tweak to block some smart-glasses users from bypassing the only safeguard that helps prevent nonconsensual recording, Meta also launched a new marketing campaign to spread awareness about the LED light feature, The Verge reported. In Los Angeles, for example, there's a billboard that shows an image of a smiling girl wearing Meta glasses, with her fingers placed to draw attention to the recording light that shines as bright as her grin. The caption reads, "The camera lets you capture the moment. The light lets everyone around you know when you do." "Designed for everyone," the billboard says. "Not just the people wearing them." Whether that messaging is going to drive it home to people breezing past the billboard that Meta glasses may be recording you if you see a light on, the EU suspects that we don't really know. However, people who bought into the privacy promises and are now suing Meta for false advertising have warned that Meta has long been pushing this messaging, claiming in prior ads that Meta AI Glasses are "Built for your privacy and others' too." But "in reality, users of Meta AI Glasses cannot control what happens to their data, or the data they capture of the people around them," the users alleged. Although the class-action complaint is not explicitly focused on nonconsensual recording, the complaint alleged that its core claims reveal another layer of the issue that many members of the public likely don't understand from the marketing campaigns. The lawsuit challenges Meta's advertising claims that glasses users control data, saying this is "false" and alleging that Meta does not inform users that human data annotators in Kenya review all footage captured by the glasses, allegedly in order to train Meta AI. That reportedly includes watching "deeply personal" videos, including those depicting sexual activity or bathroom visits, as well as sensitive content, like credit card information or private text messages. As one example of how this ropes in unwitting people who aren't aware of the privacy risks of nearby glasses, the complaint cited one video where a user set down his Meta glasses on his nightstand, which then captured video of his wife undressing. "The video was sent to people halfway around the world to view and annotate in order to train AI -- all without the woman's knowledge that the video of her had been captured in the first place," the lawsuit said. Users suing are hoping to force Meta to pay out damages, including potentially punitive damages, to every person in the US who bought smart glasses under the allegedly false premise that Meta cared about user privacy. "Despite their actual knowledge of the human review pipeline and the inherent safety and privacy risks associated with such sharing of data, Defendants have continued to market the Glasses using the same 'designed for privacy' representations," the lawsuit said. They've also asked the court to force Meta to change its messaging. That would include blocking Meta from continuing to advertise glasses as privacy-protecting, which users alleged would ensure that Meta's future customers aren't exposed to "unreasonable risks of dignitary harm, emotional distress, stalking, extortion, identity theft, and reputational injury." In a loss, Meta could also be required to improve its public awareness campaigns and fully explain the privacy risks of its smart glasses. If Meta's alleged deception goes unchecked, users suing have claimed that the company will continue treating smart-glasses wearers as a lucrative new source of data, without meaningfully protecting them or the public from the most significant privacy risks. "The consumer data is extremely valuable to Meta," the lawsuit said. "New data input is central to AI production, but as AI labs exhaust publicly available data, proprietary sources of new data can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. But instead, Meta can farm personal data from unknowing consumers who have already purchased the Products -- turning consumers themselves into commodities without them ever knowing it."

Meta Ray-Ban update will block the most obvious loophole for disabling the privacy LED

Meta continues to crack down on malicious users disabling the privacy LED on its Ray-Ban smart glasses, this time focusing on the most obvious loophole out there. Detailed by Meta's VP of AR, Alex Himel, on Threads, a new update is "coming" to Ray-Ban smart glasses and Meta Smart Glasses to further block users from disabling the privacy LED. Previously, Meta targeted users who were modifying the hardware to disable the LED, but it left the door open to an easier loophole - starting the recording and then covering the LED. While the glasses would block a recording from starting when the LED was covered, this loophole allowed users to cover the LED after the recording had already started. This new update stops the camera from recording if the light is covered. Himel explains: We have an update coming to increase the reliability of the capture LED on our AI glasses. The camera won't start recording if the LED is blocked, but some people try to bypass this by starting a recording and then covering it up. A fix for this is starting to roll out - the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording. We're going to keep rolling out updates like this to make sure the capture LED can reliably alert bystanders when photos or videos are being captured for someone's gallery. Only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections, and the fact they have to go to these lengths shows our efforts are working. We'll keep improving and evolving our approach. On a dedicated privacy page on its website, Meta says that if the glasses "detect the Capture LED light was covered, physically tampered or destroyed, they'll automatically disable the camera," adding that "it's that simple." The page also goes over "tips to help you and those around you feel safe and comfortable while you're wearing your glasses" such as turning off the glasses in "sensitive spaces" and reasoning that you shouldn't record with glasses if you wouldn't record with your phone. The page also, notably, points out that "You, and only you" can see photos and videos captured on the glasses. That's seemingly contrary to past reports that human moderators see videos from the glasses. It's unclear exactly when this next update will roll out, but it comes as smart glasses are under intense scrutiny from society, with Meta the main name in that conversation.

Less pervert-y? Meta AI glasses will now stop recording if you cover the warning light

Meta is strengthening the tamper detection on its AI glasses and blocking terms including "rizz" as part of a wider crackdown on harassment and covert recording Meta is rolling out another privacy update for its AI glasses, this time targeting people who cover the capture light after a video has already started recording. The small white LED on the front of Meta's glasses flashes whenever the camera is taking a photo or recording video. It is supposed to give anyone nearby a visible warning that they may be on camera. However, users have found ways to obscure or physically modify that light. Meta's latest update is designed to stop the camera from recording if someone begins filming and then covers the LED. This closes a potential loophole in the tamper-detection protections Meta announced in July. Beginning with the second generation of its glasses, Meta says the camera is disabled when the device detects that the capture LED has been blocked. The company later expanded that protection to detect attempts to physically alter or destroy the light. Now the glasses are also expected to recognize when the LED becomes covered during an active recording session and shut the camera down. Meta is going after tampering services The technical update is part of a much broader effort to discourage people from using Meta's glasses to record others without their knowledge. Some companies had offered services that modified or concealed the capture light. Meta says businesses offering those services have begun shutting down because its glasses now deactivate the camera when tampering is detected. The company has also removed posts offering instructions or services for disabling the LED. Meta says it has taken down thousands of posts connected to harassment, pick-up artist videos and prank content, while disabling accounts involved in that behavior. It has also blocked searches and hashtags associated with violating content, including "rizz," "pick up artist" and "cold approach," in an attempt to make those videos harder to find and share. Meta wants everyone to recognize the light Wearing a camera on your face makes it far easier to film someone without holding up a phone, particularly if that person does not recognize what the flashing white light means. Alongside the update, Meta is launching an awareness campaign explaining what the capture LED is and what it means when it starts flashing. The campaign will include online videos and images as well as large billboards in communities where sales of the glasses have been especially strong. One is already running in Los Angeles. That education may be just as important as the technical safeguard. The LED can only provide a useful warning if the people around the wearer understand why it is blinking. Meta's glasses are becoming far more common, but they are still unfamiliar enough that someone across a restaurant, playground or commuter train may not realize they are looking at a wearable camera. The latest update will not settle every privacy concern surrounding smart glasses. Someone can still record people who have not explicitly agreed to appear in a video, just as they can with a smartphone. But making the light harder to defeat, while helping people recognize it, should make covert recording more difficult. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok.

Meta Tightens AI Glasses Privacy to Stop Hidden Recording

Meta updated its AI glasses so the camera stops recording if users cover the LED that shows when filming is active. Meta is adding a new privacy measure to its . The new update is designed to stop camera recording even after it has started filming. If the user is already recording something and covers the camera, the recording will automatically stop. Meta authorities stated that this measure is taken to stop misuse of the recording feature. The company already added a feature in July that could turn off the cameras when the glasses detect physical tampering. The latest update takes that idea further. Meta also started an awareness campaign to explain the capture LED and help people understand when the glasses are recording. The official release stated, "This update is designed to stop camera recording if someone starts filming and then covers the LED. This builds on we announced in July that disable glasses cameras if physical tampering is detected." To assure users further, the press release said, "We've also launched our Capture LED awareness campaign. AI glasses are a fast-growing technology that not everyone is familiar with. As they grow in popularity, we want everyone to know how they work. We're launching an education and awareness campaign to explain the Capture LED light and what it means. We put it there so others know if someone is capturing the moment."