Meta offers privacy control

Meta says it will let people opt out of having visual data from its smart glasses used for AI training, responding to privacy backlash against the devices.

What the opt out covers

Users who opt out stop their camera interactions with Meta AI from being used to train the company's models. Those images also won't be shown to third-party contractors.

How it works in practice

Meta explained: if you opt out and ask your glasses to translate a menu, your visual data answers the question then disappears. It isn't used for training and nobody reviews it.

“If you've opted out and you ask your glasses to translate a menu, we'll use your visual data to answer your question and then it's gone.”

The hidden camera problem

Meta previously allowed images and video captured while using Meta AI to be used for training, though they weren't saved to camera rolls. Many users didn't know these captures were being stored.

Contractors saw intimate images

Third-party contractors in other countries reviewed and labeled images for AI training. Some contractors reported seeing personal and intimate images of people while doing this work.

Audio still fair game

The opt out covers only visual data. Audio interactions with Meta AI remain available for training and review, though users can manually delete those recordings themselves.