Meta Develops Facial Recognition for Ray-Ban Glasses

Meta is developing a facial recognition feature for its Ray-Ban smart glasses that could launch as early as this year, according to internal documents and sources familiar with the plans. The technology, known internally as Name Tag, would enable wearers to identify individuals in their view and retrieve related information through the device's AI assistant.

The smart glasses, produced in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley brands, have seen strong sales since their debut, with millions of units sold last year. Name Tag aims to enhance the glasses' capabilities by integrating facial recognition into real-time interactions, potentially providing contextual details such as names or connections from Meta's social platforms. However, the company has emphasized limitations to address privacy concerns, focusing recognition on people linked to the user through Facebook or Instagram accounts, or those with public profiles, rather than enabling identification of strangers.

Development of the feature began early last year, with Meta weighing significant safety and privacy risks. An internal document outlined a proposed rollout strategy, including an...