Meta Says Bug Caused Ray-Ban Glasses to Record Without Wearer Knowing

Meta said a bug that caused some Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to record conversations without the wearer's knowledge has been resolved, according to Ars Technica.

The recordings occurred without users saying the prompt phrase "Hey, Meta," the company said. A Reddit user using the handle Kindly-Audience-137 reported that the issue occurred across three Meta Ray-Bans and that the "Respond without Hey Meta" setting was turned off. The same user said the Meta AI app saves audio recordings and text transcripts in conversation history.

Android Authority reported the discussions on Tuesday and later published Meta's response. The outlet said it was unable to replicate the problem before Meta said it had fixed it. Meta said people can manage, review, and delete voice logs of their interactions with Meta AI through settings.

Ars Technica sent Meta a message asking what it is doing to prevent future bugs and how many devices were affected.

Earlier privacy concerns

Before reports of this bug, privacy advocates had already expressed widespread concerns about Meta's smart glasses and those from other vendors. Meta's glasses pushed the boundaries of privacy further with their more inconspicuous look, prompting concern about how easy it could be for someone to secretly record another person.