Smart glasses bring AI into your world. They could also identify anyone in it.
Meta has dominated the AI smart-glasses market, with its Ray-Ban collaboration becoming the world's best-selling AI glasses, moving over 7 million units sold in the past year. The appeal lies in seamlessly integrating mics, cameras, and speakers into a lightweight design. However, a New York Times report reveals that Meta is exploring using those same cameras for a new facial recognition feature.
The feature, internally called “Name Tag,” would allow the wearer to identify the people around them, as well as relevant information through the Meta AI assistant: the same one currently used for general queries, according to the four people involved with the plans who spoke to the NYT.
According to two sources, the feature would be limited in scope, potentially recognizing only people the wearer is connected to on Meta platforms or those with public Meta accounts, rather than identifying anyone indiscriminately.
An internal May document obtained by the NYT also reveals Meta planned to pilot the feature with attendees at a conference for the blind before rolling it out more widely, signaling it’d be first marketed as an accessibility feature. Beyond accessibility, the feature could deliver benefits for users and Meta alike.
“For consumers, facial recognition removes the barriers and embarrassment of being caught in a situation when you think you know someone, but aren’t 100% sure,” said Ramon Llamas, Research Director, Mobile Devices and AR/VR at IDC. “For Meta, facial recognition on the glasses can help strengthen the connections among its different products and services and drive longer usage of each.”
Notably, the document suggests Meta planned to leverage the "dynamic political environment" in the United States to distract from potential backlash from civil society groups. Meta has experienced similar scrutiny before.
In 2024, two Harvard Students integrated a facial recognition service that allowed them to identify strangers and retrieve personal information. At the time, the company stated that the flashing light on the glasses serves as an indicator to the public that the camera is running. Meta also had to shut down it’s decade old Facebook facial recognition technology in 2021 due to privacy concerns.
“It raises many questions as to what would be a reasonable approach to privacy regarding what information can be accessed, to what extent, how reliable that information is, and so much more,” added Llamas. “That’s where Meta has to come up with the right formula for reasonable usage.”
The future of the feature is still not guaranteed, as the company is reportedly evaluating how the feature could be released in a way that addresses “safety and privacy risks,” according to the documents. Meta similarly considered adding facial recognition to the original launch of its AI glasses in 2021, but decided against it.