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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.
Australia's government is considering banning camera-equipped smart glasses from public workplaces, a move Reuters says would be the first of its kind. Separately, more than 70 plaintiffs have filed an amended class-action lawsuit against Meta in a California federal court, alleging its smart glasses recorded intimate moments—including bathroom and bedroom footage—without users' knowledge, which was then reviewed by contractors in Kenya training Meta's AI.
Amazon has cut off access for Meta's Muse AI shopping agent, displaying a popup that says unauthorized AI agents violate its Conditions of Use. According to GeekWire, Meta never informed Amazon that Muse would browse its store, and Amazon raised concerns that Muse doesn't identify itself while browsing and appears to capture customer credentials without disclosure.
Australia's public service minister Katy Gallagher announced the government is exploring a ban on Meta's AI-enabled smart glasses in federal government buildings, citing privacy and security risks tied to their recording capabilities. Officials plan to consult the public service commission and hold a roundtable with major employers like Microsoft and Commonwealth Bank to develop broader AI workplace guidelines.
A WIRED reviewer tested Meta's newly launched Muse app, an AI agent that connects to email, bank accounts and other personal data to handle tasks like bookings and errands. Though Muse downloaded over 900,000 times in its first week and browses the web more smoothly than earlier agents, the reviewer found it seemed more focused on gathering personal information than completing requested tasks.
A journalist testing Meta's Muse AI assistant on its new Mac app found it referencing contents of his Messages conversations, despite believing he hadn't granted access. When questioned, Muse gave a confused and inaccurate explanation, claiming it only saw notification previews synced through the paired Mac app. Meta executive David Singleton later clarified that Muse only accesses Messages data after a user explicitly opts in, and that the assistant's own explanation of its capabilities was simply wrong.
Meta is expected to unveil a new pair of smart glasses at Connect 2026 that drop cameras entirely, relying instead on added microphones for voice interaction with its AI assistant. The frames are said to come in two styles and will be slimmer, resembling regular eyewear, according to reports ahead of the event.
Meta's Threads platform has been flooded with posts using nearly identical wording, in which users claim they and their spouses work at major companies like PepsiCo, JPMorgan, Fidelity, or IBM before pivoting to promote investment advice or opportunities. The repetitive phrasing across accounts suggests coordinated or automated activity rather than genuine personal testimonials.
Meta's Muse, an AI agent app launched earlier this month, has climbed to the top of Apple's free iPhone app rankings in the US, pushing OpenAI's ChatGPT out of first place. The surge follows Meta's expansion of Muse to Mac desktops, though that version doesn't count toward App Store rankings since it's downloaded via the web.
Chinese AI startup Manus is reportedly negotiating a $500 million funding round valuing it at $4 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, after resuming operations as an independent company. Prospective backers include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, CATL, and returning investors Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund, with the company also weighing a restructuring ahead of a possible Hong Kong IPO.
Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are increasingly being nicknamed 'perv glasses' due to misuse by people secretly filming others in public, echoing the 'Glasshole' stigma that doomed Google Glass in 2014. The author says this backlash has changed their own stance, now favoring reports that Apple's rumored smart glasses, expected next year, might launch without photo or video recording capability.
Meta has launched a Mac version of its AI assistant Muse, allowing it to interact directly with a user's files, messages, calendar, notes and mail within their native apps. The desktop release follows Muse's earlier debut on mobile and web this month, where it quickly climbed to the top of U.S. App Store rankings.