ByMaya Brooks

Culture & Trends Writer

Published

August 28, 2026

Photo: CCadio / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Meta has updated its Ray-Ban smart glasses to close a workaround that let wearers secretly record video by covering the front-facing LED indicator after they started filming.

The glasses already had a blinking LED designed to alert bystanders when photos or video were being captured. But some users discovered they could bypass the warning by covering the light mid-recording. Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of augmented reality, wrote on Threads that the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording.

“Only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections, and the fact they have to go to these lengths shows our efforts are working,” Himel wrote.

The fix follows months of criticism over the glasses’ potential for covert surveillance. Some wearers have used them to record people without consent or film social media pranks on strangers. A report about Meta adding facial recognition capabilities to the device fueled a global backlash.

Meta is now trying to get ahead of the reputation problem with a public awareness campaign. Spokesperson Albert Aydin told The Verge the company is placing billboards in communities where glasses sales have been popular. One billboard currently up in Los Angeles reads: “The camera lets you capture the moment. The light lets everyone around you know when you do.” A companion video reinforces the message that no light means no capture.

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About the authorMaya Brooks

Culture & Trends Writer

I cover what the internet is actually talking about: the new release, the viral moment, the creator beef, the product launch. My job is to explain it fast and clearly, without the breathless hype.