Meta smart glasses automatically disable recording if users attempt to disable the devices' recording indicator light, the company has revealed in the wake of mounting privacy concerns.
Announced in a blog post on July 7, the safety feature detects when a user has tampered with or covered the wearable's capture LED, a blinking white light on the edge of the frame that alerts others the wearer is using the glasses' camera.
If the light is no longer visible, Meta says, the glasses will disable use of the camera until the device detects the light is visible again.
The safety feature is available immediately on second generation devices. It will roll out across the line of wearables — including the new Meta Glasses by Kylie line — and is mandatory for all device users.
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Mark Zuckerberg's company is also going after third-party sellers who advertise devices with disabled LEDs, including banning accounts on Meta platforms.
Meta's line of sleek smart glasses have sparked online debate about the ethics of filming others in public without their express consent. On the one hand, the glasses' hands-free video has revolutionized content creation, making it easier than ever to film yourself on the go. But on the other, they have led to a sub-genre of content featuring rampant harassment of people, mainly women, in public spaces.
Critics note the easy-to-miss LED is a key problem, and have urged Meta to update its devices with more explicit indicators.
But in the blog post, Meta explained its rationale for the small white light — which offers the "best combination of visibility and [user] experience" during both day and night filming.
As for why the device couldn't make a recording sound audible to anyone in the vicinity of a recording? "It’s simply not practical to make that sound be heard at a distance," claims the company.