Some Ray-Ban Meta wearers are furious after their smart glasses make secret audio recordings, but Meta says the issue is “solved”.
- Ray-Ban Meta users have noticed unwanted voice recordings
- Meta says the problem is resolved but hasn’t said what went wrong.
- Disabling voice activation for AI seems to fix the issue
If you’re already facing a barrage of criticism for perceived intrusions on privacy, then you really don’t want any more spying accusations to come your way, but that’s what Meta is dealing with when it comes to its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
On Reddit (via Android Authority), a Ray-Ban Meta user says he found audio conversations and text transcripts saved by the glasses that were never requested or associated with a “hey Meta” command to invoke the built-in AI.
According to the individual, it happened on three different pairs of specs (including the second and third generation models), and others posted in the thread to say they saw the same behavior on their own Ray-Ban Metas.
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Meta responded to Android Authority, without providing many details, and says the issue “has been resolved.” We’ve reached out to Meta ourselves for additional comment and will update this article if we hear back.
Check your voice records
WARNING: My Ray-Ban meta glasses are recording conversations without “Hey Meta”, occurring in 3 pairs!
from r/MetaGlasses
If you own a pair of smart Meta specs, you can check voice recording activity by opening the Meta AI app on your phone and then selecting Glasses > Device Settings. Tap the name of your glasses and then Glasses Privacy > Voice Activity Recording.
You can delete voice recordings from here, but you can’t prevent them from being captured in the first place. In theory, they should only be recorded when you say “hello Meta” or activate the AI by pressing a button.
The associated privacy notice mentions that voice services are activated “inadvertently,” which may be what happened here. It also says that Meta staff may review some recordings to “help improve Meta’s voice services.”
Some Redditors have resorted to disabling voice activation for the built-in AI, which you can do from the same device settings screen in the Meta AI app. However, it is clear that this is an inconvenience that users should not have to endure to prevent this from happening.
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