Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP / Getty Images
Meta has permanently disabled the cameras on thousands of its AI-powered smart glasses after detecting that users had tampered with the built-in privacy indicator lights. The company confirmed on Tuesday that a recent mandatory software update rendered cameras inoperable on devices where the LED recording light was physically altered or destroyed, a move aimed at protecting bystander privacy and addressing concerns about secret recordings.
The privacy indicator, known as the capture LED, flashes whenever the glasses are taking a photo and blinks throughout video recording. Meta says this feature, present since the first generation of its smart glasses, is meant to make it clear when recording is happening and does not have an off switch. According to the company’s official FAQ, the camera is now automatically disabled if tampering with the LED is detected. No photos or videos can be captured until the light is restored to working order. If the LED is covered with tape or a sticker, the camera will be re-enabled once the obstruction is removed, but if the light is drilled out or destroyed, the camera function is permanently disabled.
The latest update goes beyond previous safeguards, which only blocked the camera when the LED was temporarily covered at the start of a recording. Meta said the newest system closes loopholes that allowed users to begin recording and then hide the light. As reported by Business Insider, the enforcement has so far impacted fewer than one tenth of a percent of all Meta AI glasses sold. With 7 million units sold in 2025 alone, that could account for around 7,000 affected pairs.
Meta has also begun removing ads and Marketplace listings that promote tampering services, and has warned that accounts advertising such modifications may be banned. The company also suggested legal action could be taken against businesses that sell services to disable the capture LED, even outside Meta's own platforms.
The move comes amid growing privacy concerns and criticism from advocacy groups. The American Civil Liberties Union and dozens of organizations have called on Meta to abandon plans to add facial recognition to its smart glasses. At a recent press event, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said, "You haven't had a camera that put a light on when it took a photo or video of somebody since you had like a VHS tape recorder in the 90s... Your phone doesn't have that, and it's the most commonly held camera on earth." He described the challenge of preventing camera misuse as "a cat and mouse game."
Meta has stated that no other consumer camera has a feature that disables recording when the privacy light is physically destroyed. The company plans to keep rolling out updates to ensure the capture LED reliably alerts bystanders when the glasses are recording.