- Meta is again updating its smart glasses software to stop people from circumventing the privacy controls
- The camera won't film if you start filming and then block the LED
- There's also a marketing campaign that's designed to educate consumers
Sentiment around smart glasses that can capture photos and video is quickly turning, and not in the direction chief smart glasses purveyor Meta would prefer. Now, to stop the admittedly small percentage of users who are trying to circumvent the glasses' built-in protections for nefarious filming, Meta is introducing a new slipstream technology update that's coming to Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses as we speak.
In a post on Threads, Meta's VP of Wearables Alex Himel announced a software update that will make it impossible for wearers to film or capture pictures if the glasses detect that you're covering the LED.
That LED was always designed to signal to others not wearing the glasses that you were filming them, but hackers soon figured out how to disable it. Meta quickly made it so the system could detect that. Now, it seems they've noticed another workaround that this update will quickly squelch. If you, say, start filming and then somehow cover the LED to hide the signal that you're doing so, the system will stop recording.
Here's how Himel explained it in his post:
"The camera won’t start recording if the LED is blocked, but some people try to bypass this by starting a recording and then covering it up. A fix for this is starting to roll out - the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording."
Perhaps more importantly, Himel is aware that hackers probably won't give up trying to jailbreak the wearable cameras and promises. "We’re going to keep rolling out updates like this to make sure the capture LED can reliably alert bystanders when photos or videos are being captured for someone’s gallery."
The second update is perhaps less impactful in that it's mostly a marketing campaign designed to "educate' or convince people that these glasses have a place in our world.
Meta is already putting up billboards claiming the glasses are "Designed for everyone, not just the people wearing them," and in smaller text below that: "The camera lets you capture the moment. The light lets everyone around you know when you do."
There's also some social media reminding folks that "The glasses announce themselves," which is another reference to the integrated LED light.
It's an admirable effort, though it seems that people are not just concerned with creepers who are surreptitiously recording. They are growing increasingly uncomfortable with people potentially walking into any space and filming. The glasses are being outright banned in all sorts of venues and face potential bans in theaters and even countries.
Of course, people filming everything everywhere has long been the case with smartphones, and we have countless hand-held on-the-scene videos and social media to prove it. It seems to be the unexpected nature of these smartglasses. Even with the light, people don't realize at first that they are being filmed, which can lead to some uncomfortable conversations.
For Meta, convincing consumers that they have this situation under control — even if it is relatively few bad actors — is critical. The company is deeply committed to the wearable intelligence space. They have been rolling out new smart glasses models, including the recent Essilor Luxottica models that feature a frame designed by Kylie Jenner, and the company is a month away from its big Connect conference, where it's expected to announce more updates across all its smart eyewear, including the Ray-Ban Displays, which include cameras and an in-lens display.
Is this update enough to make you comfortable around Meta Ray-Ban smart glass wearers? Let us know in the comments below.
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