Meta's AI glasses have developed a reputation as unsettling technology. To counter this perception, the company is rolling out an update that will automatically disable the camera if the LED indicator light—which signals recording—is tampered with. This move appears to be a response to growing public concern that these glasses are not merely fun, trendy accessories (even if endorsed by Kylie Jenner) but pose serious privacy risks, as they can be misused for covert surveillance.

However, even as Meta promotes this new safeguard, it continues to push products and features that demand users give up even more privacy. Whether it is training its AI on your images, enabling AI features that use your personal content unless you manually opt out, or exploring ways to continuously record or apply biometric facial recognition, Meta's vision of the future consistently relies on collecting more of your personal data. In its blog post announcing the camera safety feature, the company congratulates itself, stating that "no other kind of camera has done this and we’re proud to lead the industry forward." Yet Meta also acknowledges that the update was necessary because some users had been covering the LED light with tape, which forced the company to adapt its technology to disable recording when the LED is blocked. The announcement further notes that determined individuals then resorted to "sophisticated efforts to modify or destroy the capture LED." In other words, Meta is confirming that some AI glasses users have hidden agendas—namely, recording people (often women) without their consent.

Despite this, the company is reportedly testing a prototype of AI glasses that would "continuously collect audio while taking photos every few seconds," according to sources who spoke to the Financial Times. Meta's blog post attempts to ease privacy fears by answering questions like, "Who can see the photos and videos I take on my glasses?" The company promises, "You, and only you—unless you choose to share them." Yet Meta's privacy policy clearly states that any image you share with Meta AI can be used to train its artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Meta faces multiple investigations and lawsuits over privacy violations linked to its AI glasses. One lawsuit stems from Meta canceling a contract with an outsourced tech firm after some of its Kenyan workers alleged they were forced to view graphic content—including sex, nudity, and people using the toilet—while training Meta's AI using videos captured by users' Meta AI glasses. This is far from Meta's first encounter with privacy violations or safety concerns. The company's reputation on privacy has been tarnished for years, following numerous data leaks, lost lawsuits over alleged lack of child safety measures, and a relentless focus on growth at any cost. Whistleblowers have written books documenting these alleged abuses, and there have been large-scale privacy disasters like the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In response, Meta now claims on its Privacy Progress Update page that "since 2019, we’ve invested significantly in people, products, and technology to continue to evolve our rigorous privacy program."

Nevertheless, the company continues to push forward with ideas that many consider privacy-invasive. On the same day it announced the glasses' new safeguard, it revealed that Meta AI can now use anyone's public Instagram photos to generate AI images—unless users opt out. It also introduced features that apply Meta AI to images in your Camera Roll that you have never shared, and implemented such poor privacy controls in its Meta AI app that users inadvertently exposed themselves by revealing embarrassing searches. This is the same company that Apple refused to partner with due to privacy concerns, that records its employees' keystrokes to train its AI, and that plans to sell targeted ads based on data from your AI chats. So, while an LED safeguard on AI glasses may be a necessary feature, consumers clearly have many reasons to remain skeptical about how the social media giant will use their images and data, especially within its broader AI ambitions.