Meta's Smart Glasses Are Testing Facial Recognition Software Used by Police and the Military
Key takeaways
- Meta Ray-Bans have been under increased public scrutiny following revelations about the facial recognition work Meta has been doing on its smart glasses.
- The code, which was never made active for users, was removed a day later.
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Threat Lab verified the initial findings and reported that Meta reversed course following public blowback.
Meta Ray-Bans have been under increased public scrutiny following revelations about the facial recognition work Meta has been doing on its smart glasses. Consumers are rightly wary of products that could convert wearable tech into everyday surveillance devices.
In early June, an investigation by Wired exposed how Meta had quietly embedded code for dormant facial recognition software under the internal designation "Name Tag." The feature, if rolled out, could have allowed Meta smart glasses to biometrically identify anyone in view -- in real time, without consent -- using a stored digital faceprint. The code, which was never made active for users, was removed a day later.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation's Threat Lab verified the initial findings and reported that Meta reversed course following public blowback. But the privacy nonprofit noted that Meta deleting the code "does not equal a permanent change of heart."