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Meta Removes Facial Recognition Code from Ray-Ban Smart Glasses App

PetaPixel · · International · Surveillance & Civil Liberties

Meta has removed code enabling facial recognition from the app connected to its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The move follows public scrutiny after researchers demonstrated that the glasses could be used to identify strangers in real time.

Why this matters: Smart glasses that can identify strangers by face, without their knowledge, are a serious problem. You cannot opt out of a camera you cannot see. Meta removing the code is better than leaving it in, but code can come back. The deeper issue is that the hardware is already on people's faces, in public, and the only thing standing between that and mass identification is a company's willingness to leave a feature switched off.

Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy

This summary is AI-assisted and may contain errors. It is an original briefing to help you gauge significance quickly — not a reproduction of the source. Always read the linked original before relying on it. See our methodology.

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