Meta is rolling out an update to its AI-powered smart glasses that will stop the camera if a wearer covers the front-facing capture LED after starting a recording. The change prevents recording from continuing after someone blocks the light.

Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of augmented reality, said on Threads: “We have an update coming to increase the reliability of the capture LED on our AI glasses. The camera won’t start recording if the LED is blocked, but some people try to bypass this by starting a recording and then covering it up. A fix for this is starting to roll out – the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording.”

Meta’s glasses face growing scrutiny over whether their small light can adequately protect people from recording without their knowledge. The company says it wants bystanders to understand what the light means. It has also said it removed thousands of posts linked to harassment and prank content. It disabled accounts involved in such behaviour. Meta blocked related search terms and hashtags. It also removed posts offering instructions or services to tamper with the LED.

Meta expands privacy measures

Earlier in July, Meta introduced a safeguard in to disable the camera when it detects physical tampering with the LED. Its privacy guidance says the camera automatically shuts off when someone covers, damages or tampers with the LED.

That question has also reached India. On August 24, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), through advocate Apar Gupta, sent a legal notice to Meta on behalf of a man identified as Mr. X over a recording made at a café in Delhi’s Khan Market. The notice names both Meta and the Instagram creator who allegedly recorded him. It seeks a takedown, disclosure, an apology, preservation of evidence and Rs 2.05 crore in damages.

According to the notice, Mr. X did not know that the Ray-Ban Meta glasses were recording the interaction. A person allegedly harassed him at the café on July 24. The person posted the footage on Instagram two days later. According to the notice, the post crossed 4.19 lakh views, 15,700 likes and more than 500 comments.

The legal challenge argues that Meta could face liability for the design and sale of the physical glasses, separate from its role as an intermediary hosting content on Instagram. It says such a claim falls outside the protection offered by Section 79 of the IT Act. No Indian court has yet decided whether a smart-glasses maker can be held liable on this basis.

Scrutiny over covert recording

The issue had already surfaced at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. In March, someone secretly recorded a person identified as Shubnam during a transgender rights protest using Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The video later spread across social media, triggering harassment and AI-generated images. Instagram initially declined to remove it before eventually taking it down.
The incident also raised questions about who should hold responsibility when the same company controls both the recording device and the platform that distributes the resulting video. Meta said users are responsible for using the glasses safely and respecting privacy. Apar Gupta said Meta “built both the camera and the platform” and that the glasses’ warning to bystanders is only a small light.

Privacy concerns extend beyond bystanders. A BBC report in March said the UK data watchdog contacted Meta after reports that outsourced workers in Kenya could view sensitive footage captured by the glasses. Meta acknowledged that subcontractors might sometimes review images and videos to improve the product. The reported material included intimate footage.

The Verge has also reported concerns around covert recordings, prank content and Meta’s wider smart-glasses push. Against that backdrop, Meta has begun promoting the capture LED itself. A Meta spokesperson told The Verge that the company was launching the awareness campaign in communities where the glasses have been popular.

The latest update addresses a specific technical gap. Blocking the LED after recording starts will now stop the camera. The broader question remains unanswered. Can a visible light alone give bystanders meaningful notice or protection? This is especially relevant when recording happens in public. Meta’s new update addresses the former; the legal and privacy disputes around the latter remain unresolved.

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