Several big tech players are banking on artificial intelligence-powered glasses as the next big consumer innovation, but a recent rise in negative consumer feedback about privacy concerns and functional wearability could derail the push.
Recently, Meta had to update its Meta AI glasses after reports that some users were paying hackers to remove the devices’ recording indicator lights, so wearers could record through their glasses without anybody knowing.
This isn’t Meta’s first problem dealing with privacy concerns around the recording capacity of its AI glasses. As reported by Wired, incidents of Meta Ray Ban creeps, meaning people who were recording others without consent or knowledge, are on the rise, with the camera-equipped glasses feeding hours of content back to Meta’s systems.
In March, U.K. regulators launched an investigation after reports emerged that Meta’s content review contractors were watching intimate footage captured by users through the glasses, including “bathroom visits, sex and other intimate moments,” according to Swedish publication Svenska Dagbladet.
Nonetheless, Meta pushed ahead with even more potentially invasive features.
As reported by The Financial Times, Meta is experimenting with a version of the glasses that would record user actions 24/7, potentially without any recording indicators, as part of a procedure that would then feed the users’ activity into a personalized AI training system.
Meta is also exploring the possibility of adding facial identification into the device, sparking further concerns about how its glasses could be used as surveillance tools.
The growing storm of negative sentiment is now threatening to hurt device sales, which have increased significantly since the addition of the new Meta AI features.
Following a re-branding of the glasses from Meta Ray Bans to Meta AI glasses, sales more than tripled in 2025. But as criticism continues to swell, even celebrities are speaking out against Meta’s glasses.
As reported by national Australian radio station Triple J, pop singer Lorde recently told a crowd at Madrid’s Mad Cool festival that it’s getting harder to know when she’s being recorded, due to the rise of AI glasses.
“Don’t get the glasses,” Lorde reportedly said. “Not sexy.”
While one musician speaking out against the glasses may not mark a major shift, it does seem to indicate a symbolic shift against the wearables, which means they could quickly become uncool. Or worse.
Reports suggest that Meta’s glasses are now becoming known as “pervert glasses,” with Engadget reporting that some users are even ashamed of wearing them in public due to the negative response.
Then there are Snapchat’s coming AR Specs, which were recently previewed at a launch event.
That did not go as well as the company had planned.
Snapchat’s glasses, modeled in this image by company CEO Evan Spiegel, have been widely criticized for being absurdly big. Many reports have focused on Spiegel’s painfully folded ear in this image as it bears the weight of the huge frames.
It seems unlikely that the expanded functionality of these glasses is going to outweigh the lack of a cool factor here. And despite Snap working with various celebrities to promote the offering, market demand may be muted, especially with a $2,000 price tag per pair.
Google learned this lesson in 2015, when it discontinued consumer sales of its Google Glass device after just two years. That was partly due to hardware limitations and a lack of functionality. But the decision was also linked to the high price tag of $1,500, and the stigma that came with wearing the glasses in public. The distinctive look of Google Glass quickly lost its novelty and became a reason for scorn instead.
In addition, Google Glass devices were banned from use in various places, including bars, movie theaters and casinos, because of their recording capacity. Meta’s glasses look set to see a similar fate, which would restrict their utility.
As reported by syracuse.com, the New York Office of Court Administration announced that it’s banning all camera-equipped glasses from all courts from this month. It’s expected to be the first of many jurisdictions to implement similar restrictions.
The combined negative responses and restrictions could end up ringing an early death knell for the entire industry. That could also dash Meta’s hopes of glasses superseding phones as key connective devices.
Meta has gone all-in on AI, and the company views the technology as creating a transformative shift. But at this stage, and despite proving valuable in certain applications, AI tools haven’t lived up to the broader hype. In particular, consumer applications haven’t proven especially valuable.
Meta has acknowledged this. In May, Alexandr Wang, Meta’s highest-profile AI recruit and the head of its Superintelligence unit, told The Core Memory podcast that while many people have found AI tools to be somewhat helpful, overall user experiences “are not overwhelmingly better” as a result of AI implementation.
Wang said that the onus is on Meta to build more valuable AI tools and win over more users in an effort to improve public sentiment. A key component of that is Meta’s AI glasses push, which is meant to give people access to an always-on AI assistant.
Given the increased sales of its AI glasses, that optimism could be well-placed. However, if negative sentiment continues to rise, it could throw a significant wrench in the works.
It does seem like the negative use cases for AI glasses are going to dominate public perception despite their potential to overlay information and provide valuable insight. This could slow take-up. And if the criticism continues to gain traction, this could also see several projects going the way of Google Glass.
