Key Takeaways
- Meta removed inactive facial recognition code from the Meta AI app used with its smart glasses.
- The dormant tool was reportedly called NameTag and could have supported face-based identification.
- WIRED said the code was not active for users but appeared inside a live companion app.
- The update has renewed privacy concerns around wearable cameras and biometric data.
- Meta says the feature was only a pilot effort and no final decision had been made.
What WIRED Found Inside the Meta AI App
Meta has removed dormant facial recognition code from the companion app used with its smart glasses after WIRED reported that it had found the inactive system inside the Meta AI app. The app is important because it supports key smart glasses features and is required to pair the glasses with a user’s phone through Bluetooth. According to the report, the removed system was internally called NameTag.
The finding immediately attracted attention because smart glasses already sit in a sensitive area of consumer technology. Unlike a phone camera, wearable glasses can face people directly during normal conversation, public movement, commuting, shopping, or private gatherings. Even if a feature is inactive, the presence of facial recognition-related code in a live app raises questions about how close a company may be to testing or deploying biometric tools.
WIRED said it identified the dormant tool on June 4 while reviewing code for the Meta AI app. The code reportedly included algorithms that could convert face photos into biometric identifiers stored on a user’s device. It could then compare new facial scans with those stored identifiers. The system was not active for consumers, but its discovery led to fresh debate over consent, transparency, and the future of smart glasses.
Code Removed After Report Raised Privacy Questions
Meta released an app update on June 5 that removed the code, according to WIRED. The latest version reportedly removed the facial recognition software, the code that ran the NameTag recognition process, and a “Person recognized” alert that would have appeared if someone was identified. The quick update has made the issue more notable because it came only one day after the report.
The update also reportedly removed a folder where the app would have stored cropped face images and biometric signatures of faces that the system captured but did not identify. That detail is important because unidentified face data is often one of the most sensitive parts of facial recognition systems. People may be scanned by a device without knowing that any image, template, or temporary identifier has been created.
The matter also connects with earlier reporting. In February, The New York Times reported that Meta was working on facial recognition for its smart glasses and referred to an internal name called Name Tag. The code later found by WIRED appears to be linked to those efforts. Meta has not announced a public consumer facial recognition feature for its smart glasses.
Why NameTag Could Be Useful and Controversial
The possible purpose of NameTag appeared to be helping users identify people they had previously met. In practical terms, such a tool could help someone remember names, recognize contacts, or receive a prompt when meeting a familiar person. For people who struggle with memory, networking, or large social environments, this type of feature could look useful at first glance.
However, the same idea creates serious privacy concerns when linked with wearable cameras. A smart glasses user could scan faces during meetings, on public transport, in restaurants, or at private events. People nearby may not know they are being analyzed by software. That is why facial recognition in glasses is more controversial than face unlock on a personal phone, where the user is usually scanning only their own face.
The controversy is not just about whether the feature was active. It is also about how a company should handle consent before building tools that identify people in real-world spaces. If a person has not agreed to be scanned, stored, or matched, the use of face recognition becomes a social and legal problem, not only a technical feature.
Smart Glasses Already Face Public Trust Issues
Meta makes its smart glasses in partnership with Luxottica brands, including Ray-Ban and Oakley. These products are designed to look like regular eyewear while offering camera, audio, AI, and recording features. That design makes them more convenient for users, but it also makes privacy boundaries less clear for people around them.
The report noted that Meta smart glasses have already been criticized over recording behavior in public and private settings. Some social media influencers have reportedly used the glasses to record and harass women. There was also a reported subway incident in New York in which a woman was accused of breaking a man’s Meta glasses. These incidents show how wearable cameras can create tension between users and the people being recorded.
Meta has also faced a class action after a Swedish newspaper investigation reported that Kenyan workers reviewed footage from the company’s smart glasses. The reported footage included sexual intimacy and bathroom use, and some clips appeared to have been recorded without the owners’ knowledge. Such allegations make any facial recognition-related development even more sensitive for the company.
Meta Says Feature Was Only a Pilot Effort
Meta vice president of communications Andy Stone told WIRED that the feature was only a pilot effort. He said the company had not made a final decision on what to do with the feature, if anything. Meta has also previously said it is not building a central face database and that nothing has shipped to consumers.
The company has said it would take a thoughtful and transparent approach if it decides to release such a feature. That statement matters because the central issue is not only whether Meta can build face recognition for smart glasses. The bigger question is whether users, regulators, and the public would trust the company to deploy it safely and with clear consent rules.
For now, the removed code does not mean a facial recognition feature was available to users. It does, however, show that Meta has explored the idea deeply enough for related code to appear inside the companion app. The episode is likely to keep pressure on the company as smart glasses become more powerful and as wearable AI devices move closer to mainstream use.
