Meta closes camera loophole on smart glasses, launches awareness campaign
Meta has fixed a flaw in its AI smart glasses that let wearers keep filming after covering the camera's warning light, while also launching a marketing campaign to explain how the light works.
Meta has updated the software on its AI-powered smart glasses to close a loophole that let wearers continue recording even after covering the device's front-facing LED light. Alex Himel, Meta's vice president of augmented reality, announced the change in a post on Threads, saying the camera will now stop working entirely if the light is covered while a recording is in progress.
The smart glasses were already designed to disable the camera if a wearer covered the blinking LED light meant to alert bystanders that photos or video were being captured. However, some users discovered they could bypass this safeguard by covering the light only after recording had already begun. This marks the second such fix in just over a month, following an earlier update that disabled the camera if someone physically tampered with the light itself.
Himel said Meta will keep rolling out similar updates to ensure the capture light reliably signals to bystanders when they are being recorded. He argued that only a small minority of users attempt to circumvent these protections, and the lengths they go to prove the safeguards are working as intended.
Backlash and a new campaign
Meta's smart glasses have drawn significant criticism over privacy and harassment concerns, as some wearers have recorded people without consent, including for social media "prank" videos targeting random bystanders. Combined with reports that Meta may add facial recognition capabilities to the glasses, these concerns have fueled a global campaign against the product.
In response, Meta is now running its own awareness campaign about the capture light, focusing on communities where the glasses have sold well. One billboard in Los Angeles states that the camera lets someone capture a moment while the light lets everyone around know it's happening. A companion video from Meta similarly explains that the light signals active photo or video capture, and that no light means no recording is taking place.
