Meta reportedly refuses to clarify whether videos recorded with Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses remain private

Meta is reportedly silent on whether it collects video and image data from its Ray-Ban Meta wearable artificial intelligence (AI) device to train its large language models (LLMs). The company announced a new real-time video feature for the device, allowing users to ask the AI ​​to answer questions and get suggestions based on their surroundings. However, there is no clarity about what happens to this data once the AI ​​responds to the request.

The feature in question is the real-time video feature, which allows Meta AI to “look” at the user’s surroundings and process that visual information to answer any questions a user may have. For example, a user can ask them to identify a famous landmark, show them the closet and ask for wardrobe suggestions, or even ask for recipes based on the ingredients in the fridge.

However, each of these features requires the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses to capture passive videos and images of the environment to understand the context. Under normal circumstances, once the response is generated and the user ends the conversation, the data should remain on private servers unless deleted immediately. This is because much of the data may be private information about the user's home and other possessions.

But Meta reportedly doesn't specify this. When asked whether the company stores this data and trains native AI models on it, a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company does not discuss the matter publicly. Another spokesperson reportedly stressed that this information would not be shared externally, adding that “we're not saying it one way or the other.”

The company's refusal to clearly state what happens to user data is concerning given the private and potentially sensitive nature of the data the smart glasses can collect. While Meta has already confirmed that the training of its AI models is based on public user data from its US-based users on Facebook and Instagram, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses data is not public.

Gadgets 360 has reached out to Meta for comment. We will update the story once we receive a statement from the company.