Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of AR, said the new software will monitor the indicator throughout a recording rather than only when capture starts. “The camera won't start recording if the LED is blocked, but some people try to bypass this by starting a recording and then covering it up,” Himel wrote on Threads. “A fix for this is starting to roll out – the camera will now stop working if the light is covered during a recording.”
The update marks Meta’s second software change in less than two months aimed at preventing the recording indicator from being defeated. The company previously said it would disable the cameras when its software detects that the LED has been physically damaged.
The capture light is intended to alert nearby people when the glasses are taking photos or videos, making attempts to conceal it a central privacy concern for the product. Meta has faced criticism over videos in which people used the glasses to secretly record or harass others in public, and Instagram has removed accounts associated with some of that content.
The latest fix does not necessarily eliminate every way of interfering with the indicator. Accessories designed to obscure the recording light have been sold online, while modifications to the hardware remain another potential method of bypassing the safeguard.
Meta is pairing the software change with a public awareness campaign focused on explaining the purpose of the LED. The company has placed a billboard in Los Angeles emphasizing that the glasses are designed with people around the wearer in mind, with the recording indicator prominently shown. Similar advertising and educational videos are planned for other cities where Meta has sold large numbers of the glasses.
The privacy controls surrounding the product are also drawing attention beyond Meta’s own software changes. Regulators in Europe are examining concerns around nonconsensual recording, while a proposed U.S. class action challenges Meta’s privacy-related marketing for the glasses.
Himel said Meta plans to continue refining the protections around the recording indicator. “We're going to keep rolling out updates like this to make sure the capture LED can reliably alert bystanders when photos or videos are being captured for someone's gallery,” he wrote. “Only a tiny minority of people try to get around these protections, and the fact they have to go to these lengths shows our efforts are working.”
For now, Meta’s latest update addresses a specific weakness in the glasses’ most visible privacy feature. Instead of checking the LED only when recording begins, the camera will now remain dependent on that indicator staying unobstructed for the duration of the session.
This analysis is based on reporting from Engadget.
Image courtesy of Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
