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Meta's Artificial Intelligence (AI) smart glasses have just undergone another security update to better protect users from its controversial built-in cameras. Each pair of the Californian firm's AI-powered smart glasses ships with a built-in camera and LED light.
The latter flashes when you're taking a photo and blinks when recording video. It's a critical privacy safeguard, so you're unable to capture photos and videos without those around you knowing they're being captured on film.
But not everyone wants to be transparent that they're recording with the built-in camera, arguing they want to be more discreet, especially when recording at events, like a fashion show or sports fixture.
However, others want to be more discreet when recording for less understandable reasons. A few reports of bad actors using the glasses to harass young women have surfaced, while others have gone to extreme measures to have the light removed altogether.
To combat this, Meta rolled out an update earlier this year to halt recording if they've found the light to either be covered or removed before recording. But clever users have found that the smart specs actually can't detect if you've covered the light after you hit the record button.
Now Meta says they have a fix for that too in its latest software update.
Alex Himel, Meta's VP of Wearables, wrote to Threads: "We have an update coming to increase the reliability of the capture LED on our AI glasses. The camera won’t start recording if the LED is blocked, but some people try to bypass this by starting a recording and then covering it up.
"A fix for this is starting to roll out - the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording."
This update will hopefully ensure that you can't cover up or tamper with the light during any period of recording.
View on Threads
Beyond the software fix, Meta has also kicked off a public awareness campaign to help people understand what that little LED light actually means.
Billboards are already going up with the message: "Designed for everyone, not just the people wearing them," along with the explanation: "The camera lets you capture the moment. The light lets everyone around you know when you do."
On social media, the company is reminding people that "The glasses announce themselves."
Mr Hamil continues on Threads: "We’re going to keep rolling out updates like this to make sure the capture LED can reliably alert bystanders when photos or videos are being captured for someone’s gallery. Only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections, and the fact they have to go to these lengths shows our efforts are working. We’ll keep improving and evolving our approach."
Meta has come under fierce scrutiny over whether cameras should have a place on its glasses at all.
Videos from Meta Ray-Ban glasses of people undressing and using the toilet are being watched, a report claims. High-resolution video filmed by the Meta-designed glasses is purportedly being reviewed by contractors at a Kenya-based company called Sama — a company responsible for training data that powers your computer vision and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
Workers at the Nairobi facility say they've seen everything from people going to the toilet, getting undressed, and even having sex. According to the bombshell new report, the footage arrives at their computers largely unfiltered, meaning the Nairobi-based data annotators are watching deeply personal moments from wearers.
The report has sparked outrage, with Will Wang, Even Realities' CEO, saying the rush to stick cameras on smart glasses is "really irresponsible."
Earlier this month, they were outlawed in courts across England and Wales in a bid to stamp out secret filming. His Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service — the body that runs all criminal, civil and family courts in England and Wales — has banned these gadgets from judicial buildings.
If you show up wearing the smart specs, you'll be asked to hand them over at the door and will get them back once you leave.
Multiplexes across the UK have started to ban Meta glasses over privacy and piracy concerns. Wetherspoons, with its 800 pubs nationwide, no longer allows anyone to wear the glasses on its premises. London restaurateur Jeremy King has barred them from his Arlington, The Park, and Simpsons restaurants too.
However, Meta still appears to be betting big on wearable tech. The company recently launched new Essilor Luxottica models featuring frames designed by Kylie Jenner, and its Connect conference is roughly a month away, where further announcements across its smart eyewear range — including the display-equipped Ray-Ban Displays — are expected.
