Meta Pulls Secret Face-Recognition Feature From Smart Glasses App One Day After Exposure
Summary
Meta quietly removes a secret face-recognition feature called NameTag from its smart glasses app just one day after investigators expose the hidden code, raising urgent alarms among privacy advocates who warn that stronger consumer data protection laws are desperately needed.
Key Points
- Meta removes a secretly embedded face-recognition system called NameTag from its Meta AI smart glasses companion app, just one day after an investigation exposes its existence in the app's code.
- The NameTag system was designed to convert faces captured by the glasses into biometric faceprints and compare them against a stored database, with unrecognized faces being cropped and saved locally for future processing.
- Meta refuses to explain why the code was removed or whether it will return, while privacy advocates warn the incident highlights the urgent need for stronger consumer data protection laws with real enforcement power.