Analysis shows Meta's Smart Glasses already contain facial recognition code

A software analysis by WIRED has discovered that Meta has discreetly embedded an unreleased facial recognition system, internally named NameTag, into its smart glasses companion app. Despite publicly claiming that the company was merely considering the technology, core components of the system have been included within Meta's AI application since January 2024, which has been downloaded over 50 million times. The app is a requirement for operating its smart glasses.

While the feature is not yet active, the underlying software pipeline is largely functional. The analysis, which was independently verified by outside security experts, confirmed that three artificial intelligence (AI) models responsible for detecting, cropping, and encoding faces into unique biometric signatures are already stored on user devices. Tests demonstrated that adding a biometric profile to the application successfully triggered a notification confirming a person was recognised.

When fully enabled, the system is designed to convert faces captured by the smart glasses into biometric data and match them against an on-device database populated with files transmitted from Meta's servers. Identified individuals will trigger a notification for the wearer, while unrecognised faces will be stored in a pending folder. Recent updates suggest the feature may be rebranded for consumers as Connections.

The initiative marks a return to a technology Meta claimed to have retired in 2021 when it deleted over one billion user faceprints following intense privacy controversies. 

Meta stressed that no final decision has been made, no consumer-facing feature has been launched, and it has no intention of building a centralised facial database. Meta maintained that any future rollout would follow a transparent, thoughtful approach.

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