Meta plans facial recognition for Ray-Ban smart glasses despite privacy backlash

Meta is planning to add facial recognition technology to its Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as this year, according to internal documents and sources familiar with the plans. The feature, code-named "Name Tag," would allow wearers to identify people in their field of view and receive biographical information through Meta's AI assistant—raising immediate privacy concerns from civil liberties groups and lawmakers.

The timing is no accident. An internal Meta memo obtained by The New York Times reveals the company believes "the political tumult in the United States would distract critics" from the feature's controversial launch, effectively using national political chaos as cover for deploying surveillance technology that critics say crosses fundamental privacy boundaries.

Five years after Meta shut down facial recognition for photo tagging on Facebook, citing the need to find "the right balance," the company is betting it can bring the technology back in a far more invasive form—one that works in real time, in public spaces, without the knowledge or consent of the people being identified.

What Name Tag does and why it matters

Name Tag would integrate directly into Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, which already feature cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities. When a wearer looks at someone, the glasses could:

• Identify the person by matching their face against Meta's vast database of user photos

• Display biographical information including name, occupation, and social media profiles

• Surface mutual connections and shared interests

• Provide conversation starters or context about previous interactions

Meta has been testing the feature since early 2025, according to sources. The company initially planned to debut Name Tag at a conference for the visually impaired—positioning it as an accessibility tool before rolling out to the general public—but ultimately abandoned that strategy.

The technology builds on Meta's existing AI assistant for smart glasses, which can already identify objects, translate text, and answer questions about what the wearer sees. Adding facial recognition creates something fundamentally different: persistent identification of every person you encounter in daily life.

Commercial implications: If successfully deployed, Name Tag could make Meta's smart glasses the first mainstream consumer device with real-time facial recognition, creating a significant competitive moat against rivals like Apple's Vision Pro or Google's AR ambitions. The feature would generate enormous data value for Meta's advertising business by connecting offline encounters to online profiles.

The privacy backlash Meta expects—and plans to ignore

Meta's internal deliberations reveal the company is fully aware of the "safety and privacy risks" Name Tag creates, according to the Times reporting. These concerns include:

Covert surveillance: Unlike smartphones that must be visibly held up to take photos, smart glasses look like ordinary eyewear. People cannot tell when they're being recorded, identified, or analyzed. This asymmetry of awareness fundamentally changes public space norms.

Consent violations: Facial recognition typically requires opt-in consent. Name Tag would identify anyone Meta has photos of—potentially billions of people who never agreed to be part of a real-time identification database.

Harassment and stalking risks: The feature could enable targeted harassment by making it trivial to identify strangers. Domestic violence survivors who've changed their appearance, whistleblowers, undercover journalists, and others who rely on anonymity face new dangers.

Function creep: Once deployed for "helpful" use cases like remembering names at conferences, the same technology could expand to law enforcement partnerships, workplace monitoring, or retail tracking without additional user approval.

Civil liberties organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and ACLU have already condemned similar technologies. Several U.S. states and the European Union restrict facial recognition in public spaces, creating potential legal obstacles for Name Tag's deployment.

The distraction strategy: Using political chaos as cover

Perhaps most striking is Meta's apparent strategy for managing the inevitable backlash. The internal memo cited by the Times reveals Meta executives believe current U.S. political divisions will "distract critics" and provide cover for the controversial launch.

This represents a calculated bet that public attention is too fragmented by other issues—immigration enforcement, regulatory fights, geopolitical tensions—to sustain focused criticism of a new surveillance technology. It's a page from the crisis management playbook: bury bad news during bigger news cycles.

The strategy carries significant risks. If the timing backslash proves wrong—if civil liberties groups, lawmakers, and the public do focus on Name Tag despite other distractions—Meta could face regulatory action at a moment when it has less political capital to fight back.

Meta spokesperson declined to comment on specific internal discussions but said the company is "still thinking through options" for Name Tag and hasn't made final decisions about whether or when to launch the feature.

Smart glasses are already a privacy minefield

Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, launched in partnership with EssilorLuxottica in 2021, already raise privacy concerns without facial recognition. The glasses can capture photos and videos discreetly, though Meta added a small LED indicator that lights when recording.

Privacy advocates note the LED is easily missed in bright environments and does nothing to inform people that they're being captured in someone else's smart glasses footage. Bar and restaurant owners have begun posting "no smart glasses" signs, and some venues require visitors to cover the devices' cameras.

Adding facial recognition escalates these concerns dramatically. While current smart glasses might passively record, Name Tag would actively identify—creating a searchable record of who was present in which locations at what times.

Competitive context: Meta isn't alone in eyeing facial recognition for wearables. Apple has explored similar features for Vision Pro but hasn't announced plans to deploy them publicly. Google's earlier Google Glass project faced intense privacy backlash that contributed to its failure in the consumer market. Snap's Spectacles focus on AR experiences rather than identification tools.

The company that successfully deploys facial recognition in mainstream smart glasses will gain enormous data advantages and potential lock-in effects, but may also trigger regulatory responses that harm the entire wearables industry.

Accessibility claims don't justify surveillance infrastructure

Meta may position Name Tag as an accessibility feature for people with prosopagnosia (face blindness) or visual impairments who struggle to recognize faces. While these use cases are legitimate, they don't require building surveillance infrastructure that affects everyone.

Purpose-built accessibility tools could operate on-device, without uploading identification data to Meta's servers or matching against the company's broader photo database. They could require explicit consent from both the wearer and the people being identified.

Instead, Meta appears to be using accessibility as rhetorical cover for technology designed primarily to enhance user engagement and generate data for advertising—the same business model that drove Facebook's original facial recognition system.

What happens next

Meta has not announced a specific launch date for Name Tag, and internal plans remain fluid. The feature faces technical, regulatory, and public relations obstacles that could delay or derail deployment.

Key factors to watch:

Regulatory response: The EU's AI Act and various U.S. state laws restrict facial recognition in public spaces. Meta would need to navigate these restrictions or face significant fines and enforcement actions.

Public backlash: If civil liberties groups and media coverage generate sustained public criticism, Meta may decide the reputational damage outweighs the feature's benefits.

Technical challenges: Real-time facial recognition on lightweight glasses with limited battery life requires significant engineering advances. Meta's current implementation may not meet the company's quality standards.

Competitive moves: If Apple, Google, or other rivals deploy similar features first, Meta faces pressure to match capabilities or risk falling behind in the smart glasses race.

For consumers, the Name Tag controversy underscores broader questions about wearable technology and privacy norms. As AI-powered devices become more capable, the line between helpful assistant and invasive surveillance tool grows increasingly blurred.

The difference between a tool that helps you remember someone's name and a surveillance system that identifies everyone you encounter may be nothing more than corporate restraint—and Meta's track record suggests restraint is not its defining characteristic.

Key takeaways

• Meta plans to add facial recognition ("Name Tag") to Ray-Ban smart glasses as soon as 2026, despite privacy concerns

• Internal memo reveals strategy to use political distraction as cover for controversial launch

• Feature would identify people in real time without their knowledge or consent

• Civil liberties groups warn of harassment, stalking, and surveillance risks

• EU AI Act and U.S. state laws may restrict or prohibit the technology

• Meta's history with facial recognition includes 2021 shutdown after privacy backlash

• Accessibility claims don't justify building surveillance infrastructure affecting everyone

FAQ: Meta smart glasses facial recognition

When will Meta add facial recognition to Ray-Ban smart glasses?

Meta internally targets 2026 for potential Name Tag launch, but plans remain under discussion and could change based on regulatory, technical, or public relations factors.

How would Name Tag facial recognition work?

The feature would use cameras in Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to capture faces, match them against Meta's photo database, and display identifying information through the AI assistant. It works in real time as wearers move through public spaces.

Can people opt out of being identified by Meta smart glasses?

Meta has not announced opt-out mechanisms. Anyone whose photos exist in Meta's database could potentially be identified, regardless of whether they consented to facial recognition.

Is facial recognition in smart glasses legal?

Legal status varies by jurisdiction. The EU's AI Act restricts real-time biometric identification in public spaces. Several U.S. states including Illinois, Texas, and Washington have biometric privacy laws that may apply. Meta would need to navigate these regulations carefully.

What privacy protections does Meta offer for Name Tag?

Meta has not publicly detailed privacy protections for Name Tag. The company says it's "still thinking through options" and considering safety and privacy implications.

How is this different from Facebook's old facial recognition?

Facebook's previous system tagged people in photos after upload. Name Tag would identify people in real time as you encounter them in physical spaces, without their awareness. The technology is more invasive because it operates continuously in public rather than on photos users chose to share.