Meta disables cameras on thousands of smart glasses after firmware detects LED tampering

Meta has disabled the imaging function on a small number of its AI‑enabled smart glasses after a firmware update identified tampering with the capture‑LED that signals when the camera is active. The company says the affected units represent less than one tenth of a percent of the roughly 7 million glasses sold in 2025 and current‑year sales, leaving only a few thousand devices disabled while Bluetooth audio remains functional.

In response to broader privacy concerns, Meta has also rolled out software that shuts the camera off when the LED is covered and launched a marketing campaign promoting the LED indicator. Meanwhile, venues such as Burning Man, a New York nightclub, and the DEFCON conference have announced rules restricting the glasses, and Australia’s online safety regulator has advised manufacturers to add automatic face‑blur features. Governments in Australia are unveiling draft privacy legislation that would give users a right to erasure and impose fines for non‑compliance.