How to stop Meta training its AI models on your smart glasses’ visual data
Meta is rolling out a setting allowing smart-glasses users to opt out of having visual data from AI features used to train and improve its models. The change matters because Meta says this data may be reviewed by humans, although opting out could disable some functions.
Users can change the setting in the Meta AI app under their glasses’ Meta AI settings, with the glasses connected and out of their case; each pair must be configured separately. The data covers AI interactions such as Live AI, but not photos or videos taken when the capture light is on, and opting out means the data is deleted after processing.
- Meta now offers an opt-out for AI-related visual data use.
- Human review and model training may involve stored visual data.
- Opting out could disable features such as visual reminders.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This opt-out mechanism represents meaningful progress in user control and transparency, giving users clear agency over whether their visual data can be used for model training and human review. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach, the setting respects that some users prioritise privacy whilst others accept data use in exchange for improved AI capabilities, and the assurance that opted-out data is deleted demonstrates corporate responsiveness to privacy concerns. Users uncomfortable with these practices can disable them entirely, honouring individual preferences about how their personal information is used.
The case against
The fundamental limitation of this approach is that it places the burden of privacy protection entirely on individual users through opt-out mechanisms, when a more ethically sound baseline would require explicit opt-in consent before visual data collection occurs. More troublingly, smart glasses that capture visual information incidentally record bystanders who cannot consent to their images being used for AI training, and the framing of privacy as a choice that reduces functionality creates a false dilemma rather than establishing privacy as a baseline right.