According to a Wired report, the Meta AI app includes code tied to an unreleased facial recognition feature for Meta’s smart glasses. The feature is not currently active, available to consumers, or part of any officially announced product. Even so, its inclusion suggests Meta is continuing to explore how facial recognition technology could be used with its wearable devices.
The feature in question is called “NameTag.” Wired says it appears to be designed to let Meta’s smart glasses recognize people the wearer has seen before by comparing faces captured earlier. A security researcher who looked through the code told the publication that the feature isn’t working yet and isn’t uploading biometric data to Meta. Still, traces of it have shown up before, including a “Connections” menu in older versions of the Meta AI app that encouraged users to “remember the people you met.”
The New York Times reported in February that Meta was developing facial recognition technology for its smart glasses, citing anonymous employees who referred to the initiative as “Name Tag.” The publication also reviewed an internal document indicating that Meta viewed the prevailing political climate in the United States as a favorable moment to introduce the feature, believing that potential critics would be focused on other issues.
A facial recognition system built into smart glasses could deliver real accessibility benefits, including helping users with visual impairments identify people nearby. However, it also brings a range of ethical and privacy concerns that remain difficult to ignore.
At present, there is no indication that NameTag will be included in a future generation of Meta’s Ray-Ban or Oakley smart glasses. However, recurring references in internal discussions and unreleased code indicate the project remains under consideration.
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