Meta has removed facial recognition components from the latest version of the Meta AI app for smart glasses. This action followed an investigation published by WIRED.
Journalists discovered a hidden NameTag system in the app’s code for smart glasses. It allowed the creation of unique biometric profiles of individuals captured by the device. The program stored images and indexed faces without users’ knowledge.
Meta representatives called the investigation “inaccurate,” but later released an update. The new version removed libraries for identification, folders for storing processed photos, and notifications of successful recognition.
Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth previously stated that a final decision on implementing the technology had not been made. However, the code contained references to plans to launch the system during a “dynamic political environment” when privacy concerns might be less prominent.
Civil rights advocates from the ACLU criticized the company’s actions. They argue that the covert inclusion of such code underscores the need for strict legislative regulation of biometric data collection.
Currently, only a few references to the system remain in the app’s debug menu. Meta declined to answer WIRED’s questions about the reasons for the code’s removal.
In March, a class action lawsuit was filed against Meta for allegedly sending intimate footage captured by smart glasses to contractors in Kenya.
