Meta's Ray-Ban smartglasses, which reportedly sold more than 7m pairs in 2025, have become one of the world's most popular gadgets while sparking sharp disagreement over privacy, safety and their usefulness. The Guardian spoke to several users and critics to explore how the devices, which combine a discreet camera with AI features, are affecting people's daily lives, from accessibility benefits to fears about covert filming and data collection.

Some users praised the glasses highly: Servaas, from The Hague, wears them daily to photograph and film his surroundings and says he is unconcerned about privacy despite reports that Meta staff in Kenya viewed private footage from the devices. Nikki, 59, who is blind, called the AI voice-description feature "a real gamechanger" for navigating her rural surroundings, though she worries privacy criticism could reduce access for people who genuinely rely on the technology. Others were less impressed – Karen Walter, 84, who has severe hearing loss, bought the glasses for live captions but found them unreliable in group settings with more than two speakers, despite working well in quieter, one-to-one demonstrations.