GoKawiilMeta disables recording on thousands of tampered Ray-Ban smart glasses
Meta has remotely disabled photo and video functions on smart glasses that owners modified to hide or disable the recording indicator light. The company's wearables VP told Semafor that under 0.1% of the roughly 7 million glasses sold in 2025 were altered this way, meaning up to several thousand devices were affected. The move follows a wave of complaints about people using the glasses to secretly film others, particularly women, without consent.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The scale of tampering, while a small percentage, still amounts to thousands of devices, suggesting covert recording was a widespread misuse rather than isolated incidents. It also shows Meta can remotely disable hardware functionality after sale, raising questions about device control and privacy enforcement, while the crackdown still misses users who record without consent but never modified their hardware.
- Meta remotely disabled camera functions on smart glasses modified to hide the recording light.
- Up to roughly 7,000 units may have been affected, based on Meta's under-0.1% estimate of 7 million sold in 2025.
- The action follows backlash over covert filming and harassment, including related Instagram suspensions of offending influencers.
Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Smart Glasses — These are the glasses at the center of the story — hands-free photos, video, open-ear audio and Meta AI built into a classic Wayfarer frame. The capture LED stays visible so people around you know when you're recording, which is exactly the feature Meta is now enforcing. A solid pick if you want the tech without the creep factor.
See Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer Smart Glasses on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: futurism.com — Frank Landymore, 2026-09-07
Published there as: “Pervs Distraught as Meta Bricks Their Smart Glasses Remotely”
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