Several UK restaurants, pubs and theatres have banned Meta's new smartglasses, which include embedded cameras and have been dubbed "spy glasses", amid concerns they can be used to film people without their knowledge or consent. The move is a setback for Meta, which has promoted the £359 devices using celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and hoped they would gain mainstream acceptance similar to tablets and smartwatches, but venues say the glasses threaten the privacy of customers and staff.

Restaurateur Jeremy King, whose venues include Simpsons in the Strand, said he would not allow guests to wear the glasses, while Soho House's private members' clubs and Wetherspoons, whose chief executive Tim Martin cited existing rules against filming customers or staff without permission, have also effectively barred their use. ATG Theatres, which owns venues including the Bristol Hippodrome and Edinburgh Playhouse, said wearers would be asked to remove the glasses during performances. Although Meta highlights a small LED light that activates during recording as a safeguard, there have been multiple reported cases of covert filming, including a woman who said a man recorded and then tried to extort her, and Instagram has said it will remove nonconsensual footage, such as unwanted "pickup line" videos, from its platform.