Meta says it has fixed a problem in which Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses recorded everyday conversations without being activated — an issue owners say affected multiple pairs of glasses, including second- and third-generation models. The reports raise an awkward question for the most mainstream smart glasses on sale: what is the device recording, and when?
What owners reported
The issue surfaced in Reddit posts, where one owner said three separate pairs of glasses captured ordinary chats, with audio recordings and written transcripts later appearing in the Meta AI app — even though the “Hey Meta” wake phrase was never used. The owner said the “Respond without Hey Meta” setting was switched off, and noticed the glasses’ white indicator light turning on during normal conversations. Other users in the thread described similar unprompted activations, though the reports appeared limited and the behaviour has not been independently reproduced.
Meta’s response — and the wider trust question
Meta told reporters on 13 October that “This issue has been resolved,” without explaining what caused the glasses to start listening, and pointed users to the Meta AI app, where they can review and delete voice logs of their Meta AI interactions. The company has not confirmed whether a firmware update was to blame, despite owners tracing the behaviour to one.
The incident lands in a fragile moment for wearable privacy. Earlier this year, reports described recordings from Meta glasses being sent to offshore contractors for data labelling — a reminder that footage collected by face-worn cameras can travel further than the device’s own activity log suggests. One outlet also reports that Norway is considering banning smart glasses in parks, beaches and schools, while courts in the US and elsewhere have already restricted them. For buyers, the calculus is shifting: it is no longer just about camera quality, but about how clearly recording behaviour is communicated and controlled — the same AI assistants researchers are racing to improve live or die on that trust, and consumer hardware makers are already navigating a brutal year where every purchase decision counts. More detail on Meta’s statement is available here.
