Meta trims smart glasses privacy policy ahead of possible FRT integration

Meta has reportedly discussed introducing facial recognition to its smart glasses, allowing users to identify people they come across.

The technology would be introduced as part of a feature internally referred to by the U.S. company as “super sensing.” The feature keeps the smart glasses’ cameras and sensors on and uses artificial intelligence to help the wearer remember what they encountered during the day. The glasses, for instance, could remind the user to take their keys when going out.

Meta is currently testing an early version of super sensing, which could become a part of its “live AI” offering, The Information reports.

Last year, Meta introduced an always-on AI assistant into its camera-equipped Ray-Bans, which can be turned on by the prompt “Hey Meta, start live AI.” The AI assistant allows the wearer to use their voice to search and play content from platforms such as Spotify. It also allows automated translation to four languages.

The company is also trying to extend the battery life of its smart glasses, allowing them to run AI features for hours instead of the current 30 minutes. The glasses, code-named Aperol and Bellini, are expected to be released next year.

Meta’s interest in integrating facial recognition into its wearables comes after the company updated privacy policies for its smart glasses in April, specifying that “Meta AI with camera use is always enabled” unless the user turns it off. The company also removed the option to disable storing voice recordings.

The move comes as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) adopts a more business-friendly approach under President Donald Trump.

Are facial recognition smart glasses entering a new phase?

Facial recognition through smart glasses has so far been limited to use by law enforcement agencies. Facial recognition-enabled smart glasses have been tested in countries such as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.

In the U.S., Clearview AI signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force for supplying facial recognition smart glasses back in 2022. The company, which does not sell its technology to the public, previously hinted at plans to integrate its facial recognition technology into augmented reality glasses made by U.S. company Vuzix, according to a book published by New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill.

Hill noted at the time that consumer tech companies such as Google and Facebook have been reluctant to deploy face biometrics after the 2015 lawsuit against Facebook’s use of facial recognition to tag friends in photos. Since then, however, companies such as Clearview AI and PimEyes have been making facial recognition more ubiquitous and easily accessible.

Last year, two Harvard students made headlines after converting Meta’s smart glasses into a device that automatically captures people’s faces with facial recognition and runs them through face search engines, including those belonging to PimEyes.

The software named I-XRAY streamed the video from the glasses, capturing faces which were then matched against pictures on the internet. The program also scoured data sources to find names, phone numbers, home addresses and names of relatives of the people that were recorded.

The main goal behind the project was to highlight privacy risks from widely available technology, the students AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio explained.

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  consumer electronics  |  data privacy  |  facial recognition  |  Meta  |  smart glasses  |  wearables