ⓘ Meta
The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are not supposed to eavesdrop on conversations without users knowing, Meta's marketing emphasizes time and again. According to user reports, however, the AI glasses often record unintentionally, potentially transmitting private conversations to Meta's servers.
Hannes Brecher (translated by Hannes Brecher), Published 🇩🇪
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 and Gen 3 ($529 on Amazon) have raised privacy concerns ever since their launch, as the glasses can constantly monitor the wearer's surroundings through a camera and microphones, potentially collecting private data. To reassure concerned customers, Meta has published a comprehensive privacy webpage that, among other things, assures users that the glasses are only active if they have first been manually activated with a "Hey Meta" voice command or a touch on the temple.
However, users are now reporting on Reddit that this is not always the case. Even when the setting that allows the AI assistant to respond without "Hey Meta" has been explicitly disabled, several users report that audio recordings and transcripts keep appearing in the companion smartphone app. Although the LED on the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses lights up during recording, the AI assistant does not respond, so the recording goes unnoticed. This issue affects both the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 and the Gen 3, making a hardware defect in just a few pairs of glasses unlikely.
Judging by the sheer number of user reports, this issue is widespread. Meta has not yet commented on whether this is a bug or whether the company is deliberately collecting additional data. When asked by a user, Meta support merely said that disabling the glasses' access to the microphones and cameras would solve the problem – except that this would leave the glasses with virtually no functionality.
Editor of the original article: Hannes Brecher - Senior Tech Writer - 22530 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018
Since 2009 I have written for different publications with a focus on consumer electronics. I joined the Notebookcheck news team in 2018 and have combined my many years of experience with laptops and smartphones with my lifelong passion for technology to create informative content for our readers about new developments in this sphere. In addition, my design background as an art director at an ad agency has allowed me to have deeper insights into the peculiarities of this industry.