Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
Normally, wearers must say the prompt phrase “Hey Meta” to wake the glasses and engage the onboard assistant. The complaints center on the eyewear’s voice-trigger mechanism. However, owners say the devices have started bypassing that safeguard altogether following a recent firmware update.
Some wearers of Meta’s smart glasses are claiming that the connected eyewear has been recording private conversations and saving transcripts even while the hardware is supposed to be in “sleep mode” – all without hearing the required wake word. One user reported that resetting the hardware did not solve the problem: “I could see the LED light up in instances where I didn’t invoke Hey Meta.” Privacy alarms are sounding once again for Meta’s smart glasses. Citing three separate Reddit discussion threads, New York Post reports that multiple customers claimed that several iterations of the tech-enabled frames, which allow hands-free communication, audio playback, and video capture, have activated unexpectedly and captured ambient speech without user consent.
Users claim unprompted lights and saved transcripts
One wearer reported documenting the unprompted behaviour across three different pairs of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, covering both second- and third-generation units. “I have observed the same behavior on THREE different pairs of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, including 2nd- and 3rd-generation models. Meta AI does not respond to me, and I never intentionally activated it. The user added that the companion Meta AI application went so far as to store both audio recordings and written transcripts of those private discussions directly inside their conversation history logs. The owner noted they are preparing to pursue a class-action lawsuit if evidence shows the glitch is widespread.