Smart glasses are booming, but the same features that make them useful—built-in cameras that can capture whoever the wearer looks at—have made them a lightning rod for privacy concerns, with Meta, the market leader, facing the sharpest criticism. Because the devices are worn passively rather than held up like a phone, and their recording indicators can be disabled or bypassed, bystanders often cannot tell when they are being filmed, a concern likely to intensify as Google, Samsung and eventually Apple enter the market.

Meta's glasses can record images, audio and video, and although they include an indicator light, some users have found ways to disable it, prompting the company to add anti-tamper safeguards. Meta also built and later removed a facial-recognition feature called Name Tag after WIRED exposed it, though its CTO confirmed it had existed. Despite the controversy, Meta has sold tens of millions of units, and smaller rivals such as Even Realities and Solos are trying to differentiate themselves with camera-free designs or physical privacy shields, while Apple has reportedly delayed its own smart glasses to address similar privacy worries ahead of a possible 2027 launch.