Meta removed facial recognition code from its smart glasses app in response to public pressure and media reports.

Just days after a damning WIRED report exposed that Meta had quietly embedded facial recognition code into millions of phones, the tech giant has quietly acquiesced in demands to reverse course. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/victory-meta-strips-facial-recognition-code-smart-glasses-app-after-public-outcry

VICTORY: #Meta Strips #FacialRecognition Code From #SmartGlasses App After Public Outcry Just days after a damning WIRED report exposed that Meta had quietly embedded facial recognition technology (#FRT ) code into millions of phones, the tech giant has quietly acquiesced in demands to reverse course. Last week, researchers identified code in #MetaAI , a companion app for its line of smart glasses, that could convert images of faces into unique #biometric signatures to #identify strangers in public. EFF’s Threat Lab verified these findings through static analysis, and reminded consumers to think twice before buying or using Meta’s #surveillance glasses. #privacy https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/victory-meta-strips-facial-recognition-code-smart-glasses-app-after-public-outcry

"Just days after a damning WIRED report exposed that Meta had quietly embedded facial recognition technology (FRT) code into millions of phones, the tech giant has quietly acquiesced in demands to reverse course. Last week, researchers identified code in Meta AI, a companion app for its line of smart glasses, that could convert images of faces into unique biometric signatures to identify strangers in public. EFF’s Threat Lab verified these findings through static analysis, and reminded consumers to think twice before buying or using Meta’s surveillance glasses. Just as quietly as Meta embedded this code, the app’s June 5th app update appears to have quietly removed all those features and systems. Gone is the face-recognition technology, the code meant to trigger “Person recognized” alerts, and the machine learning models and databases designed to detect, digitize, and store the biometric signatures of people users engage with. When WIRED broke the news last week, Meta’s executives immediately went on the defensive. Yet, their actions speak louder than their tweets: less than 48 hours after the public caught wind of their plans, Meta quietly launched an update to scrub nearly all traces of the FRT system from their app." https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/06/victory-meta-strips-facial-recognition-code-smart-glasses-app-after-public-outcry #Meta #Surveillance #SmartGlasses #FacialRecognition