Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#291

Post by f33d5173 » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:10 AM UTC

MerrimanInd wrote: post #17

I was in engineering school back in ~2012 when Google Glass came out. One of my classmates got hold of a pair when they were still quite uncommon and wore them to an extracurricular club meeting. Within minutes someone made a comment about him wearing the "creeper" glasses and asked if he was filming. He never wore them to the club again. I just don't see a world where that doesn't happen with Meta glasses.

The google glasses deliberately looked distinct from normal glasses. The facebook glasses don't. That has a massive impact.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#292

Post by scotty79 » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:10 AM UTC

pluc wrote: post #177

hightrix wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any less obviously aggressive tactics we can use? Wear something that is blinding to the cameras, or something else to obfuscate?

Slapping a pair of glasses that are recording you, processing your face, sending biometrics and images back to one of the worst privacy offenders on the planet off of the face of someone who is willingly doing all that without asking your permission is a perfectly appropriate reaction. Put your shoulder into it. I'd rather we normalize that than adversarial fashion.. but that's probably what you were looking for.

It's also an assault, with intrinsic video evidence of the crime committed.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#293

Post by diath » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:11 AM UTC

DrewADesign wrote: post #229

hightrix wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I'd like to agree with you, and do in some cases, there are many cases where this just isn't a feasible approach. For example, a peer coworker has a pair of these. I just don't interact with her while she is wearing them. If my boss were to get a pair there is no way I can justify slapping them off his face.

It’s also at least simple assault, and quite possibly aggravated assault on someone that has a sophisticated camera pointed at your face that’s sending biometrics, images, and probably video back to one of the worst privacy offenders on the planet. Feels great to say it. Would feel great to do it. Morally defensible to anyone that knows anything about privacy if the person isn’t low-vision or something. In reality, a…

[flagged]

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#294

Post by theshackleford » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:12 AM UTC

tombert wrote: post #77

majestik wrote: post #8

Is anyone here actually surprised Meta is recording and reviewing their content? Vote with your dollars people.

I deleted my Facebook eleven years ago. I wish I could say it was for some cool reason about privacy concerns and whatnot, but honestly it's because I was spending way too much time arguing with people I barely knew, and I figured that that's not healthy. I missed Facebook for about a day, and after that I barely even thought about it. In 2021 I bought an Oculus Quest 2, which at the time required a Facebook account…

> Point being, it's really not hard to get off Facebook and to ditch Meta products. More people should delete it.

As another poster mentioned, it can in fact be more difficult. Almost all of my social clubs/groups over the years migrated away from websites/forums to FaceBook. I could give up an account, at the cost of losing effectively my entire social calendar.

I have a generic account with no real user data, but they still get all my content from the social groups so they still win I suppose.

My point ultimately I guess is that I have chosen the ability to continue to have a strong social life over my zuck hating principles.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#295

Post by deaux » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:13 AM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #227

hightrix wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I'd like to agree with you, and do in some cases, there are many cases where this just isn't a feasible approach. For example, a peer coworker has a pair of these. I just don't interact with her while she is wearing them. If my boss were to get a pair there is no way I can justify slapping them off his face.

I don't think you could justify slapping them off of anybody's face unless you really just like to assault people.

Streaming someone live to Meta, potentially the most evil company in the world (not "per employee" but by "damage done per day") without their permission, especially in a place where this is not at a expected - like an office rather than a football stadium - is great justification. It ticks all the boxes.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#296

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:13 AM UTC

wredcoll wrote: post #204

bonoboTP wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People don't care about privacy as long as a faceless corporation is doing the spying. People very much care if it has a plausible path to embarrassing or creepy situations involving actual people in your life. The chilling effect of ubiquitous phone cameras is well documented now this would amp it up by a 100. Many cool clubs already put stickers on phone cameras.

> Many cool clubs already put stickers on phone cameras. Can you elaborate on this?

[deleted]

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#297

Post by drnick1 » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:13 AM UTC

mayowaxcvi wrote: post #145

My concern was whether the glasses might record or transmit data while switched off or in standby mode. From what I can tell, they don’t do this intentionally. So the risk is broadly similar to other modern electronic devices. The creepiness concern is real, but I think people misplace where the actual surveillance happens. The most consequential stores of personal data aren’t ad networks they’re things like banks, h…

> Realistically, there’s very little an individual can do to completely opt out.

Yes, but it's possible, at the cost of some minor inconvenience, to greatly limit data collected about you.

Communicate over private channels (Signal, own XMPP servers, NOT Whatsapp), pay in cash or crypto, runs free software on all your devices, and deny Internet access to devices across the board (this includes all TVs/monitors, all "smart" devices, cars, and other appliances).

The real issue is that (as these glasses exemplify), it is difficult to prevent others to intentionally or unintentionally provide data to surveillance companies. This happens when you walk in front of a Ring camera, when someone uploads a selfie to Facebook and you happen to be in the background, and in countless other situations.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#298

Post by rudhdb773b » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:14 AM UTC

blakesterz wrote: post #29

Meta aims to introduce facial recognition to its smart glasses while its biggest critics are distracted, according to a report from The New York Times. In an internal document reviewed by The Times, Meta says it will launch the feature “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.” https://www.theverge.co…

I never understand why a company would put something like this in writing.

I worked at a midsize financial company before and whenever there was something even approaching a legal or ethical grey area, we'd pick up the phone and say come to my office to talk, and then you'd close the door.

We weren't doing anything nearly as nefarious as Meta, yet everyone was always aware that email and phone conversations were recorded and archived.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#299

Post by fc417fc802 » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:15 AM UTC

jackcviers3 wrote: post #189

MerrimanInd wrote: post #17

I was in engineering school back in ~2012 when Google Glass came out. One of my classmates got hold of a pair when they were still quite uncommon and wore them to an extracurricular club meeting. Within minutes someone made a comment about him wearing the "creeper" glasses and asked if he was filming. He never wore them to the club again. I just don't see a world where that doesn't happen with Meta glasses.

It seems like a more polite way of handling this in private spaces is just to ask that people take them off - just like we do when a pig farmer walks into our house with their boots on. I get why people are creeped out by them, but we get filmed or photographed hundreds of times a day in a big city when we are in public spaces. Gatekeeping a potentially useful technology for being filmed in public -- well, everyone i…

> well, everyone is _already_ filmed in public. ATM cameras, stoplight cameras, drone cameras, smartphone cameras, security cameras, doorbell cameras.

And we probably ought to regulate how all such footage is handled.

> banning all non-consensual recordings in all spaces

It's a false dichotomy. Even if recording is permitted that doesn't mean the systemic invasion of personal privacy needs to be.

Re: Meta’s AI smart glasses and data privacy concerns

#300

Post by randycupertino » Tue, Mar 03, 2026, 2:15 AM UTC

Forgeties79 wrote: post #76

blakesterz wrote: post #29

Meta aims to introduce facial recognition to its smart glasses while its biggest critics are distracted, according to a report from The New York Times. In an internal document reviewed by The Times, Meta says it will launch the feature “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.” https://www.theverge.co…

Why is it always this accusatory “while you were distracted”-style rhetoric? Who has been distracted from Facebook’s shenanigans? Who are they talking about? Is it me? Because I can tell you I have certainly not been distracted on that front. Am I supposed to feel guilty? Am I supposed to hold somebody accountable who should’ve been paying attention? I do actually understand why it’s done, but I just find it very gra…

The facebook execs literally plotted to relaunch their unpopular product while people were distracted by other bad news.

> “We 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,” according to the document from Meta’s Reality Labs, which works on hardware including smart glasses.