Scanning the horizon: Meta expands data collection from Ray-Bans to enhance AI

Meta is expanding data collection from Ray-Ban smart glasses, significantly reducing user privacy options while bolstering its AI capabilities. The company’s recent email to customers reveals substantial changes that automatically enable voice recording storage for Meta AI interactions and default camera access, removing previous opt-out options. These changes reflect an aggressive push to gather more user data while maintaining minimal technical escape routes for privacy-conscious consumers.

The big picture: Meta has fundamentally altered its Ray-Ban smart glasses privacy settings, now collecting and storing voice recordings by default when users interact with Meta AI.

• The company has eliminated the option to disable voice recording storage, forcing users to manually delete recordings after they’ve already been captured and potentially used.
• The “camera use” setting for Meta AI is now enabled by default, increasing the amount of visual data Meta can potentially access.

Key details: Meta’s new policy makes voice recordings mandatory when using voice commands with the Ray-Bans, with recordings stored and used to improve Meta’s AI systems.

• According to Meta’s email, “Meta AI with camera use is always enabled on your glasses unless you turn off ‘Hey Meta.'”
• Voice commands like “Hey Meta, record a video” trigger both the recording of video content and storage of the voice command itself along with an audio transcript.

Privacy implications: Media captured by the glasses’ built-in camera is stored on connected smartphones and not used for AI training unless specifically shared with Meta services.

• Photos and videos become available for Meta’s AI training if they’re used with Meta AI or if cloud processing features are enabled.
• The only way to avoid excessive data collection is by completely disabling Meta AI on the glasses and using manual controls for photography and video recording.

Between the lines: This change represents a significant privacy regression for smart glasses, removing user control options that were previously available.

• The timing of this announcement suggests Meta is prioritizing data collection for AI development over user privacy preferences.
• By making data collection the default and removing opt-out options, Meta is fundamentally altering the privacy bargain customers thought they were getting when purchasing the product.