Technology and Scienceupdated 2h ago2 min read
Meta Fixes Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Bug That Recorded Audio Without “Hey Meta”
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Ray-Ban glasses recorded audio without wake word and saved transcripts in Meta AI app. Affected second- and third-generation models; recordings occurred even when wake word was disabled.
Unprompted audio recording bug
Meta fixed a bug in its Ray-Ban smart glasses that triggered unexpected audio recordings through Meta AI without the “Hey Meta” command, and the bug could occur even when wake word was disabled. The issue caused the glasses to start recording audio without any triggers, while Ars Technica described reports that the recordings occurred without users saying the prompt phrase (“Hey, Meta”).
Meta also told Android Authority that “People can manage, review, and delete voice logs of their interactions with Meta AI via settings at any time,” and the company did not explain what caused the bug. A Reddit user going by Kindly-Audience-137 said the Meta AI app “saves audio recordings and text transcripts of these conversations in my conversation history.”
Meta response and regional controls
Meta’s response to Android Authority said “This issue has been resolved. People can manage, review and delete voice logs of their interactions with Meta AI via settings at any time,” and the statement named no cause, no firmware version and no count of affected owners.
The https | West Asian account said Meta’s US and UK versions of its AI Glasses Voice Privacy Notice differ, with the US text stating “We will store voice recordings even if you unintentionally activate a voice interaction.”
The https | West Asian account said the UK version instead says that with storage off, recordings are deleted “immediately after processing.”
The https | West Asian account said Android Authority reported it had asked Meta what happens to audio captured through an unintended activation, and the statement it published did not address the question.
Privacy scrutiny and next steps
Meta’s fix landed after privacy complaints about Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, and PCMag UK said the company acknowledged the unauthorized recording issue and said it has been fixed.
Meta spokesperson said, “This issue has been resolved. People can manage, review and delete voice logs of their interactions with Meta AI via settings at any time,” and the report said the white capture LED would occasionally blink while users were just speaking.
Meta did not explain what went wrong, while it described a Reddit user finding audio recordings and text transcripts of conversations not linked to a “Hey Meta” command in three pairs of glasses.
TechRadar described that the glasses are supposed to record voice only after the user says “Hey Meta” or presses a button to activate AI, and it said the option to delete recordings does not provide a way to prevent the glasses from recording in the first place.