Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses come with a built-in camera that’s useful for POV recording. But as with all cameras, there is the potential that it could also be used for object and people recognition. However, that’s something people are pushing back on. In a letter signed by over 70 organizations, they are asking Meta to cancel an upcoming facial recognition feature for its Ray-Ban glasses.
Organizations urge Meta to cancel Ray-Ban facial recognition feature
For those unfamiliar, back in 2025, there was a rumor that Meta is working on a facial recognition system for its Ray-Ban wearable powered by AI. This would be an always-on AI system that can recognize faces and other details of your life. We can see the potential usefulness for the feature, but we also recognize the privacy implications.
This is why over 70 organizations have signed a letter asking Meta to cancel the feature. The feature, which is currently referred to as “Name Tag,” has yet to be officially announced. According to the letter, these organizations don’t believe that redesigning the feature, giving users the ability to opt-out, or introducing safeguards is enough. Instead, they believe in the inherent danger of the technology itself.
The letter reads, “People should be able to move through their daily lives without fear that stalkers, scammers, abusers, federal agents, and activists across the political spectrum are silently and invisibly verifying their identities and potentially matching their names to a wealth of readily available data about their habits, hobbies, relationships, health, and behaviors”
Meta’s response isn’t reassuring
Meta has since responded to the letter, but it’s not particularly reassuring. The company’s statement seems to be pointing at how other companies have similar facial recognition features. It also says that if they were to introduce it, they would take a “thoughtful approach.”
The statement reads, “Our competitors offer this type of facial recognition product, we do not. If we were to release such a feature, we would take a very thoughtful approach before rolling anything out.” That being said, we don’t think it’s necessarily a Meta-only problem. After all, the built-in camera was one of the reasons so many people had such an adverse reaction when Google Glass first came out.
In the meantime, other companies like Apple and Samsung are reportedly developing smart glasses of their own. Whether or not they’ll face similar pushback remains to be seen.
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