Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses plan facial recognition to identify people in real time
Meta reportedly revived plans to add facial recognition to its Ray-Ban smart glasses under a feature code-named "Name Tag" that would let wearers identify people in real time without consent. U.S. senators have raised concerns that the technology could surveil protesters and discourage public dissent, and reportedly Meta internally discussed timing the launch during political turmoil to reduce scrutiny.
What happened
In February 2026, the New York Times reported based on internal Meta documents that the company had revived a 2021 plan to add facial recognition to its Ray-Ban smart glasses, with the feature internally code-named 'Name Tag.'
The feature would let wearers identify people in real time without their knowledge and pull up information through Meta's built-in AI assistant.
An internal Reality Labs memo from May 2025 discussed launching the feature during a 'dynamic political environment' to reduce scrutiny from privacy groups.
Reported impact
Senators Ed Markey, Ron Wyden, and Jeff Merkley warned that the technology could identify, track, and surveil people in real time without their knowledge or consent, and could be used to identify people at political rallies.
The lawmakers stated that 'widespread use of this technology could chill free expression and enable harassment' and 'could be used to target vulnerable communities and undermine Americans' privacy and civil liberties.'
Governance controls
Meta has not publicly stated whether it plans to roll out facial recognition in its smart glasses.
The senators gave Meta until April 6 to answer questions about how the company would collect, store, and safeguard sensitive biometric data, and whether users or those being scanned would have any ability to opt out.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.