Senators Ron Wyden and Edward Markey sent Meta a letter demanding details by Thanksgiving on whether the company conducted human rights and safety reviews before releasing its smart glasses. They asked how Meta assessed privacy risks to users and bystanders and what safeguards currently exist, citing reports that the glasses have been used by ICE agents during raids and flagged by an NYPD counterterrorism memo. The letter also cites Meta's own disclosures that imagery from the glasses' AI features may be retained and used, with human reviewers, to train AI systems.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-31
A group of U.S. senators has launched an inquiry into Meta's smart glasses, seeking information on whether the company assessed potential human rights violations tied to the devices. The inquiry centers on due diligence Meta may or may not have conducted before releasing the product.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-29
Ash Saulsbury, who previously worked on Meta's smart-glasses technology, is building Awear AI, a platform designed to let wearers carry their AI assistant's learned preferences and memories across different devices and brands. The effort targets a market where Meta and Google currently tie their AI assistants tightly to their own glasses hardware and services.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-15
Multiple Reddit users reported that their Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, including 2nd- and 3rd-generation models, saved audio recordings and transcripts to the Meta AI app even though they hadn't said the wake phrase and had the 'Respond without Hey Meta' setting disabled. The issue reportedly appeared after a firmware update, and Meta's initial support response only suggested disabling core features like microphone permissions and automatic updates rather than explaining the cause. Meta later told users the issue 'has been resolved' without detailing what caused it.
techspot.com
· 2026-10-15
A Reddit thread alleges that Meta's smart glasses have captured audio of conversations even when users did not say the required 'Hey Meta' wake phrase. The claims suggest the device's microphone may activate recording unintentionally, raising privacy concerns among users.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-14
Alibaba has introduced the Qwen Glasses N1, a smart glasses product that the company says offers longer battery life and a higher-resolution camera sensor than Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses. The announcement positions Alibaba among a growing list of Chinese manufacturers releasing smart glasses hardware that rivals Meta's specs on paper.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-14
Meta has released an audio-only version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses that drops the camera entirely, offering Bluetooth audio, calls, and a voice AI assistant in Clubmaster and Burbank frame styles. A reviewer who tested the glasses over several days reported that no one noticed them being worn, since they look like ordinary eyewear, and found setup now includes more prominent privacy disclosures about how AI voice and visual data are handled.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-13
Meta has introduced a new version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses that drops the camera entirely, offering only audio features. The device keeps the smart glasses form factor while removing the recording capability found in earlier models.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-23
At its Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, Meta announced it will extend its Private Processing system to Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, allowing the AI assistant to handle requests without Meta itself accessing the underlying data. The feature previously launched for WhatsApp and the Meta AI app, powering WhatsApp's Incognito Chat. Meta has not specified which glasses features will use the system, though engineering director Pritam Shah said the platform is already built and functioning rather than just planned.
wired.com
· 2026-09-23
Meta announced it is developing support for its Muse AI agent on its smart glasses, letting users activate it by voice to guide workouts, log meals, or get shopping help. The company also detailed other upcoming updates including an FDA-cleared Hearing Enhancement feature, Dolby Atmos spatial audio recording, a Dynamic Photo feature, left-right audio balance controls, and a 'Hologram' video-call feature for Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses.
theverge.com
· 2026-09-23
Meta's annual developer conference, Connect 2026, is underway, with Gizmodo providing live coverage of announcements as they happen. The company is anticipated to unveil new smart glasses hardware along with upgrades to its AI models during the event.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-21
Polish developer Pawel Szydlowski built ZuckOff, a free Bluetooth scanning app that identifies nearby smart glasses from Meta and Snap by matching device signals to fingerprints he compiled from purchased hardware. The app has drawn over 5,000 downloads on Apple's App Store and 1,000 on Google Play within its first month.
wired.me
· 2026-09-21
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