Intimate Meta smart glasses footage being viewed by contractors in Kenya

Meta's Ray-Ban AI smart glasses are experiencing a surge in popularity, with sales reaching 7 million pairs in 2025, a significant increase from the 2 million units sold across 2023 and 2024. While the technology allows users to record first-person footage and interact with artificial intelligence (AI) models, it has sparked a significant debate concerning privacy and the potential implementation of facial recognition software.

However, a joint investigation by Swedish newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten highlights that much of the footage captured by these devices is sent to offshore contractors for data labelling. In Nairobi, Kenya, employees of the contractor Sama reported being required to review and annotate highly intimate and sensitive data to train Meta's AI. Staff described viewing recordings of individuals undressing, using the toilet, and engaging in sexual activity, often captured without the apparent knowledge of those being filmed. Some footage also included financial information, such as bank cards. Employees claimed they faced dismissal if they questioned the ethics of reviewing such personal content.

Meta's terms of service explicitly reserve the right to perform both automated and manual human reviews of AI interactions. Although the company advises users not to share sensitive information, critics argue that many consumers are unaware of the extent of this data collection. Furthermore, users cannot access the AI features unless they agree to share their data. 

Comments given to the Swedish newspapers by Kleanthi Sardeli, a data protection lawyer at the Austrian privacy and digital rights advocacy group NOYB, warn that: "Once the material has been fed into the models, the user in practice loses control over how it is used." Sardeli argues that "if this happens in Europe, both transparency and a legal basis for the processing are lacking," and that the company should seek explicit consent when using data to train AI. 

After 2 months of silence, Meta responded to the findings by referring the newspapers to its privacy notices and terms of service, stating that all media is processed in accordance with these established documents. 

Following publication of the report, A group of MEPs have sent submitted a written question to the European Commission. Central to their concerns, the MEPs highlight that Kenya currently holds third-country status under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), despite ongoing negotiations with the Commission for a mutual adequacy agreement. 

The MEPs have asked the Commission what actions will be taken alongside national data protection authorities (DPAs) to ensure Meta's compliance with the processing requirements under the GDPR. Furthermore, the lawmakers have asked the Commission to commit to conducting a comprehensive impact assessment of the potential privacy risks to EU citizens arising from the proposed changes in the Digital Omnibus package.

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