Meta smart glasses are getting a software update that closes a privacy loophole letting wearers keep recording after covering the front-facing LED. Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of augmented reality, announced the change in a post on Threads, explaining that the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording.
Meta’s AI-powered glasses already disable their built-in cameras when someone covers the LED capture light, which blinks to alert nearby people that a photo or video is being taken. Some users, however, discovered they could bypass the safeguard by covering the LED after a recording had already started. The new fix arrives a little over a month after Meta updated the glasses to shut off the camera when wearers physically tamper with the capture light.
How the Capture LED Works
The capture LED is designed to signal to bystanders when the glasses are actively recording. According to Himel, Meta plans to continue rolling out updates so the light can reliably notify people when photos or videos are being saved to a wearer’s gallery. He noted that only a small minority of users attempt to circumvent the protections, and argued that the effort required to do so shows the measures are effective.
The glasses have drawn scrutiny over privacy and harassment, with reports of wearers recording people without consent and filming social media “pranks” targeting random bystanders. Those concerns, alongside a report about Meta adding a facial recognition feature, have fueled a broader campaign opposing the devices.
A New Awareness Campaign
To counter that pushback, Meta has launched its own marketing campaign aimed at spreading awareness of the capture light in communities where glasses sales have been strong, spokesperson Albert Aydin said. One billboard currently displayed in Los Angeles pairs an image of the smart glasses with the line, “The camera lets you capture the moment. The light lets everyone around you know when you do.”
A companion video from Meta reinforces the same message, stating that the capture LED signals when the glasses are recording photos and videos, and that “no light” means “no capture.” The combination of the software update and the public campaign reflects Meta’s push to reassure bystanders about how and when the devices record. The Los Angeles billboard is part of that outreach effort.
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Image: theverge.com
