Woman secretly filmed by Meta smart glasses sparks privacy concerns

A woman's discovery that she was covertly filmed by Meta's AI-powered smart glasses has ignited fresh privacy concerns. Toluwa Omitowoju found herself unknowingly recorded and featured in a viral social media video, which has garnered over 200,000 views across platforms.

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I had no say.

Omitowoju expressed shock and displeasure, stating she had no idea she was being filmed and was never asked for consent before the video was posted online. "I had no say," she said, noting that other women have shared similar experiences, some even more distressing, where the filmer remained anonymous.

This incident highlights a growing trend of content creators using wearable AI technology, like Meta's smart glasses, to record unsuspecting individuals for prank videos. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, acknowledged the issue in July, stating the platform would remove content that harasses people or invades their privacy, particularly "pickup line kind of videos."

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If you're posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we've heard of and seen recently, then we're going to take the content down.

Meta maintains that its Ray-Ban Meta glasses have built-in privacy features, including an LED light that illuminates when recording. However, a CBS News test revealed a potential vulnerability. Reporter Anna Schecter found that covering the LED light after recording had already started did not appear to disable the recording function as intended. A Meta spokesperson clarified that the tamper detection is designed to prevent recording if the light is covered *before* pressing record, and the company is working to improve the technology. The legal landscape also presents a complication, as most U.S. states only require one-party consent to record an interaction.

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If the glasses detect that the capture LED is covered or obstructed, they will disable capture and prompt the wearer to clear the obstruction.