Meta Closes AI Glasses Recording Loophole as EU Weighs Privacy Curbs for 1 LED
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 28
Meta Closes AI Glasses Recording Loophole as EU Weighs Privacy Curbs for 1 LED
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 28
Summary
Meta said a coming software update will stop its AI glasses camera whenever the recording LED is covered during capture, closing a workaround users used to hide active filming.
The fix targets a simple bypass of Meta’s earlier safeguard: recording already failed if the light was covered before filming started, but users could begin recording first and then place a sticker over the LED.
Meta says only a tiny minority tried to evade the alert system, yet the change follows backlash over non-consensual recordings posted online and broader concerns that bystanders cannot reliably tell when filming is happening.
EU regulators are already probing the glasses’ privacy design, with Germany considering a ban and the European Data Protection Board expected to issue recommendations later this summer on preventing recording without consent.