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Leaked documents and app analysis indicate Meta was developing a facial-recognition feature called NameTag for its Ray-Ban smart glasses and the Meta AI companion app. Reporting cited in the references says the software included on-device components for face detection, face cropping, liveness checks, and biometric template generation, with the apparent goal of identifying people seen through the glasses by linking them to Meta platform data such as Facebook and Instagram profiles. The code was reportedly distributed inside the Meta AI app to millions of smartphones even though the feature was not publicly launched.
After scrutiny and backlash, Meta reportedly removed most of the related code from a newer version of the app, but privacy concerns persisted because the capability could be restored and because bystanders would have no meaningful way to opt out of being scanned. The reports also say Meta licensed facial-recognition and liveness-detection technology from Rank One Computing, a vendor known for government and law-enforcement work, and that the software could support databases of up to 10 million biometric profiles, intensifying concerns about consumer surveillance through wearable devices.
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After public backlash and scrutiny, Meta reportedly removed most of the NameTag-related code from a newer version of the Meta AI app, though the references note concerns that the capability could be restored later.
The references report that Meta licensed facial-recognition and liveness-detection technology from Rank One Computing for its smart-glasses ecosystem, providing technical capability relevant to the reported NameTag feature.
According to leaked documents and Wired reporting cited by the references, Meta gradually embedded code and AI models for the internal NameTag facial-recognition feature into the Meta AI companion app in 2026, including components for face detection, face cropping, and biometric template generation.
WIRED reports that Meta removed the inactive but functional NameTag facial-recognition code from the Meta AI app on June 5, 2026, after WIRED reported on it the previous day. The code had supported face detection, matching, and identification functions for Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses.
The report says Meta explored adding facial recognition to its first Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2021 but abandoned the idea because of technical and ethical concerns. This predates the later 2026 NameTag-related development.
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Investigations reported by Swedish outlets *Svenska Dagbladet* and *Göteborgs-Posten* found that recordings captured by **Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses**—including video and audio—are being reviewed by human contractors as part of AI training and quality assurance workflows. Workers employed by **Sama**, a Meta subcontractor in **Nairobi, Kenya**, described routinely handling highly sensitive content inadvertently recorded by users, including bathroom visits, undressing, sex/pornography, and private conversations, as well as incidental capture of **bank cards** and other identifying details; interviewees said they feared reprisals for raising concerns and described strict on-site controls intended to prevent leaks. Following the reporting, the UK’s privacy regulator, the **Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)**, confirmed it is contacting Meta to ask questions about the devices and associated data-handling practices. While Meta’s terms reportedly disclose that some interactions may be reviewed by humans to improve the system, the reporting and worker accounts suggest the review pipeline can include intimate or identifying moments that wearers may not expect to be viewed by third parties, raising regulatory and reputational risk around consent, transparency, and safeguards for bystander and user privacy.
Jun 29, 2026
An Android app called **Nearby Glasses** was released to alert users when certain camera-equipped smart glasses are nearby by scanning **Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)** advertising traffic for **manufacturer company IDs** (Bluetooth SIG-assigned identifiers) rather than device names, MAC addresses, or service UUIDs, which can be inconsistent or randomized. The app, developed by **Yves Jeanrenaud** (Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences), runs as a foreground service and triggers notifications when detected devices meet a configurable RSSI threshold (reported default around `-75 dBm`, roughly 10–15 meters in open space). Reported monitored IDs include Meta/Luxottica and Snapchat-related identifiers, and users can add custom hex values to expand detection. Reporting highlighted that the approach can generate **false positives**, particularly from other Bluetooth devices made by the same vendors (e.g., other Meta hardware), and the project documentation warns against using detections to harass people. The app’s emergence is framed as a response to growing privacy concerns and reported misuse of smart glasses for **non-consensual recording** and demonstrations of **real-time facial recognition** using glasses paired with public data; coverage also notes legal and regulatory risk areas (e.g., state wiretapping laws) and ongoing debate over the effectiveness of recording indicator lights and the potential for those indicators to be disabled.
Jun 29, 2026
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is testing new subway gates that use **AI-powered cameras** to capture short recordings when riders are suspected of fare evasion and to generate a physical description that is transmitted to the MTA, prompting criticism from privacy advocates concerned about persistent monitoring in public transit. The MTA has also solicited vendor input for systems using computer vision and AI to detect “unusual or unsafe behaviors,” reflecting broader growth in surveillance deployments across New York City. In parallel, consumer **AI smart glasses** are re-emerging with built-in cameras and microphones, intensifying concerns that everyday wearables can enable covert recording and downstream biometric identification. Reporting highlighted that footage from *Ray-Ban Meta* smart glasses can be paired with external facial-recognition services to identify strangers, and noted policy issues such as cloud storage of wake-word voice recordings (potentially retained up to a year) and uncertainty about future features like on-device facial recognition; retailers in New York (e.g., Wegmans and others) are also expanding facial-recognition use, underscoring the convergence of AI, biometrics, and surveillance in both public and commercial spaces.
Jun 29, 2026