Meta has released a firmware update for its smart glasses that addresses a privacy concern relating to serendipitous recording.
Devices like the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have a dedicated white LED light (called a Capture LED) that is illuminated when the camera is capturing content. It blinks when a photo is taken, it remains solid when a video is being recorded. It’s to let non-wearers know to be on guard that they’re being recorded and also makes them aware of any creepy behaviour in public settings.
However, people are gonna people and some users have been covering or tampering with the LED light for what can only be nefarious purposes. While the company has been disabling the camera if the light is covered, the new compulsory firmware update now disables the camera entirely if the light is tampered with physically.
In a Q&A on its support site, Meta says: “The camera is disabled when people try to do [cover the light]. Beginning with our second generation of glasses, the camera is automatically disabled if we detect that the capture LED has been blocked. No photos or videos can be taken until we detect that the light is unblocked.
“Since the introduction of this safeguard, we’ve seen some people go beyond using tape to sophisticated efforts to modify or destroy the capture LED. We are continuously improving our ability to detect tampering, and now we’re updating the glasses to disable the camera if they detect the LED was physically tampered with or destroyed. No other kind of camera has done this and we’re proud to lead the industry forward.”
The company said it is also working to battle services offering to tamper with the LED lights on behalf of users, promising to take legal action against those selling those services on and off of Facebook and Marketplace.
Meta says this won’t be the last privcy feature added to reassure wearers and non-wearers alike in the weeks and months to come. Some have called for a different colour light to be used to identify recording is in progress as it can be quite difficult to see in daylight.
Meta adds: “We know that for wearable technology to succeed it must be trusted both by people who wear the glasses and the others around them. We looked at many options and found the white light delivered the best combination of visibility and experience.”
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