Smart glasses may be feeding your face to AI, and Samsung’s pair lands next month
Senators want to know if Meta’s camera glasses are sending images of strangers into AI training. Samsung’s camera glasses land in December. Here’s how to protect yourself from someone else’s specs, and the one setting every owner should flip today.
🤯 WOW! Meta sold more than 7 million pairs of smart glasses last year. Two U.S. senators say pictures from those glasses, including those of people who had no clue they were on camera, may be used to train Meta’s AI. Contract workers overseas reportedly saw footage of people undressed. And Samsung’s new camera glasses hit stores right before Christmas.
The Short Version: You can end up in a stranger’s AI training data without knowing it. Steps to protect yourself below.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
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You’re in line for coffee. The guy behind you wears a slick pair of Ray-Bans. Cute, right?
Except those glasses are also a camera, a microphone and an AI assistant. And you’re in the shot.
Meta sold more than 7 million pairs of smart glasses last year. Sens. Ron Wyden and Ed Markey want the company to answer one question: What happens to the people those glasses see?
Here’s what you need to know.
👓 You never clicked ‘I agree’
Meta’s own fine print says so. When a wearer asks the glasses’ AI about what’s in front of them, that image can be kept and used to train Meta’s AI. Real humans may look at it, too.
- Contract workers in Kenya reportedly saw unredacted footage, including people undressed. Meta dropped that contract.
- More than 70 people sued, saying workers labeling AI data saw their private photos and videos.
- The senators want to know if bystanders can ever get that data deleted.
You didn’t sign anything. You walked into the frame. (Seriously.)
And more cameras are coming. Samsung’s Intelligent Eyewear reportedly hits the U.S. in mid-December. Styles come from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Every model has a camera up front and Google’s Gemini AI built in. No price yet.
It’s Google Glass all over again. Only this time, people are buying them.
🔒 Lock it down
If you’re the one being filmed:
- Look for the light. Meta glasses have a small LED on the front that glows when the camera’s recording. Meta says it shuts the camera off if someone tampers with it.
- Speak up. “Are those recording?” is a fair question at the doctor’s office, the gym or your kid’s sleepover.
- Your house, your rules. Smart glasses stay out of the bathroom. Period.
If you own Meta glasses, flip this switch today. Take the glasses out of the case so they connect. Open the Meta AI app and go to the glasses’ settings > Meta AI (under Experiences). Turn off Store visual data from AI experiences.
FYI, that only covers pictures. Meta still keeps your voice interactions, so delete your old recordings in the app’s settings.
Getting the Samsung pair for Christmas? Dig into the privacy settings before you head out the door. I would. My rule: Assume the camera’s on until someone proves it’s off.
You should respect people who wear glasses. They paid money to see you.
📩 Send this to someone who just put smart glasses on their holiday wish list.