Meta Disables Cameras on AI Glasses After Users Tampered With Recording Indicators
Meta disabled cameras on thousands of AI-equipped Ray-Ban glasses after users tampered with recording indicator lights to conceal video capture in public spaces. Norway's government began developing stricter regulation for smart glasses and wearables equipped with cameras and AI, including potential restrictions on facial recognition functions.
What happened
Meta disabled cameras on thousands of its AI-equipped smart glasses after detecting that users had physically tampered with the recording indicator lights to conceal recording activity. A software update targeting this behavior affected less than 0.1% of all Meta AI glasses sold, representing approximately 7,000 devices based on 2025 sales figures.
The glasses included a light indicator showing when recording was active, but some users found ways to obscure or deactivate the light, potentially enabling covert recording of others in public spaces. Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth stated that the glasses represent 'the most privacy-oriented camera for consumers.'
Reported impact
Meta's AI glasses acquired a controversial reputation, with some referring to them as 'perv glasses.' Business Insider reported that Instagram had struggled to remove harassment content recorded with Meta glasses in public spaces.
Index analysis
Norway's Government began developing stricter regulation for smart glasses and other wearable devices equipped with cameras, microphones, and artificial intelligence. The Norwegian Minister of Digitalisation and Public Administration, Karianne Tung, confirmed plans to establish stricter rules for devices capable of recording or identifying other people, including possible restrictions on facial recognition functions in public spaces.
Governance controls
Norway established an expert group to analyze the technology and advise the government on which uses require specific regulation, what obligations manufacturers should assume, and how the law could be applied without impeding legitimate wearable applications. The Government requested that companies, public bodies, and institutions develop their own standards while national regulation is being developed, potentially resulting in restrictions in schools, hospitals, pools, offices, courts, and other places with reasonable privacy expectations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.