Key facts
- Meta added dormant facial recognition code to its Meta AI app.
- The code, named NameTag, is intended for potential use in smart glasses.
- The feature includes AI models for face detection, cropping, and encoding.
- Meta states it is "exploring" the feature and has made no final decisions.
- Meta has previously faced fines for collecting biometric data without consent.
Meta has reportedly added dormant facial recognition technology, internally named NameTag, to its Meta AI app through multiple updates this year. This code could potentially enable Meta's smart glasses, including Ray-Ban and Oakley models, to identify people captured by their cameras. The groundwork for this feature involves three AI models for face detection, cropping, and encoding, which are already present on the phones of users who have the Meta AI app installed. Security researchers suggest the app is nearly ready for such a feature. A Meta spokesperson stated that the company is "exploring" this capability, emphasizing that nothing has been released to consumers and no final decision has been made. They assured a thoughtful and transparent approach if a feature is eventually rolled out, and confirmed no central face database would be built. This development follows past controversies where Meta paid significant fines for collecting biometric data without consent and its association with Clearview AI's data scraping. The news also comes shortly after 70 organizations, including the ACLU and Fight for the Future, sent a letter urging Meta to abandon any plans for facial recognition in its smart glasses.