Meta has spent much of this year trying to calm concerns about facial recognition coming to its smart glasses. But the company doesn’t look ready to give up on the idea, and a newly public patent application shows just how seriously Meta has continued exploring the technology.
First reported by Patentlyze, the application was filed by Meta in February and describes using AI-powered facial recognition alongside smart glasses to identify people and use information associated with them when creating media.
A patent filing does not guarantee any of these features will reach consumers. But it arrives after months of reports showing that Meta has repeatedly explored facial recognition for its wearable devices.
This is starting to look like more than an experiment
Back in February, reports revealed an internal feature called “Name Tag” that could allow Meta’s smart glasses to identify people in real time.
Things got considerably stranger in June. Researchers found dormant face-recognition components inside the Meta AI app, including systems capable of detecting faces and converting them into biometric data. Meta later removed the code and maintained that no facial-recognition feature had launched.
Around the same time, we also learned that Meta had licensed facial-recognition technology from Rank One Computing, a company whose customers include U.S. military and law enforcement agencies. The software was also found sitting dormant inside the Meta AI app.
At this point, there is no doubt that Meta has explored facial recognition for its glasses. What remains unclear is whether any of that work will eventually make its way into a product people can buy.
The privacy problem hasn’t changed
The patent has already drawn criticism. In a statement cited by CNET, the Center for Democracy and Technology warned that the technology could be abused in ways that put vulnerable people, including stalking and domestic violence victims, at risk.
It is the same concern that has followed Name Tag from the beginning. Smart glasses are very different from facial recognition tucked away inside a photo library. They are cameras worn on someone’s face while they move through public spaces.
Meta’s glasses already look remarkably similar to ordinary eyewear. Add facial recognition, and someone standing nearby may have no way of knowing whether they are simply being looked at or quietly identified.