{"id":525,"date":"2026-06-06T16:31:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T16:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=525"},"modified":"2026-06-06T16:31:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T16:31:55","slug":"meta-secretly-integrated-facial-recognition-software-with-smart-glasses-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=525","title":{"rendered":"Meta secretly integrated facial recognition software with smart glasses, report says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s no secret Meta has been exploring facial recognition technology for its platforms, like Facebook. It\u2019s even cost the company millions in settlements.\u00a0<\/p>

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But a new Wired report details how Meta secretly is going even further by integrating facial recognition software into an app linked to its glasses tech, despite the company recently stating it was still \u201cthinking through\u201d whether to release such a feature. Internally called \u201cNameTag,\u201d the feature would create unique digital profiles of faces the Meta glasses camera captures, and notify wearers of people it \u201crecognizes,\u201d according to the report.<\/p><\/div>

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The feature itself is not available to consumers as the company is still exploring the technology, Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels said in an emailed statement to SFGATE\u00a0June 5. He also called recent reports on the tech \u201csensational\u201d and affirmed that the company is not \u201cbuilding a central face database.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

\u201cNothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cIf we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

Privacy experts have long warned that wearable tech like Meta\u2019s smart glasses pose security and privacy risks for those around the wearers. Integrating facial recognition would only deepen those concerns, as the feature would have to collect biometric information on unsuspecting individuals to work. It\u2019s the same concept that has caused Meta issues for more than a decade after the company rolled out a tagging suggestion feature in 2011.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

In 2024, the state of Texas settled a lawsuit against the company for $1.4 billion after it alleged Meta collected and stored biometric profiles of Texan residents without their consent. And three years earlier, the company settled a class action federal lawsuit for\u00a0.<\/p><\/div>

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Though Meta shut down the tagging feature in 2021, the\u00a0New York Times in February reported on an internal Meta memo in 2025 that stated that the company was reconsidering exploring the technology. According to the report, referring to a smart glasses facial recognition feature, the memo said, \u201cWe will launch during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy advocacy organization, said in a Thursday statement that it confirmed that the facial recognition code Wired published is \u201cpresent and active,\u201d but not available to consumers. The nonprofit said the report \u201cdoesn\u2019t come as a surprise\u201d given the reporting on the internal Meta memo.<\/p>

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\u201cDespite the billions of reasons not to, Meta seems to have created the capacity to turn their customers into a distributed surveillance machine,\u201d the EFF said in its Thursday statement. \u201cThis is just one more reason to think twice before buying or using Meta\u2019s surveillance glasses.\u201d<\/p><\/div>

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Biometrics are considered sensitive personal data under the California Consumer Privacy Act, which has comprehensive regulations on data collection, including the right to know what specific personal data is being collected and who it\u2019s going to, and the right to opt out or delete it. The state even maintains a service called\u00a0DROP\u00a0that facilitates the deletion of state residents\u2019 information from data brokers.<\/p><\/div>

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