Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Expose Intimate Footage to Overseas Data Annotators
Swedish journalists found that intimate and sensitive footage captured by Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses is being reviewed by data annotators at an overseas contractor without users' knowledge or consent. The contractors reportedly viewed private content including people in bathrooms and bedrooms, credit card details, and text messages, according to the investigation published in March 2026.
What happened
According to a joint investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten published March 3, 2026, sensitive and intimate footage captured by Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses is being reviewed by data annotators at a Kenya-based company called Sama without adequate filtering of private content.
Contractors reported viewing footage showing people going to the toilet, getting undressed, having sex, watching pornography, and revealing credit card details and text messages. One contractor described footage where a wearer set glasses on a bedside table and their wife undressed, apparently unaware she was being recorded.
Reported impact
Wearers of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses, more than seven million pairs of which have reportedly been sold, did not knowingly consent to their intimate footage being viewed by third-party contractors. One contractor stated, 'I don't think they know, because if they knew, they wouldn't be recording.'
Index analysis
The footage reviewed by Sama contractors was generated as training data for AI systems to improve object identification but apparently underwent minimal content review or filtering before delivery to the annotators.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.