## Covert Code Deployment Raises Red Flags **Meta** has been quietly deploying core components of a face-recognition system into its **Meta AI app**, an essential companion for its smart glasses, including **Ray-Ban** and **Oakley** models. A **WIRED** analysis confirmed that code for a feature internally known as "NameTag" has been integrated into the app over multiple updates since January. This development comes despite **Meta**'s public statements as recently as April, where a spokesperson indicated that any rollout of face recognition would involve a "very thoughtful approach." However, the analysis shows that the foundational elements of this system were already present in software distributed to millions of users' phones months earlier. ## "NameTag" Functionality and Biometric Data Collection While not yet activated for users, "NameTag" is designed to identify individuals captured by the glasses' camera. When enabled, it would transform faces into unique biometric signatures, or "faceprints," which are then checked against a database stored on the user’s phone. This database is configured to receive updates from **Meta**. Recognized faces would trigger wearer notifications, while unrecognized ones are cropped, indexed, and saved to a "pending" folder. The system leverages three **Meta** AI models—one for detection, one for cropping, and a third for encoding faces into biometric data—all of which have already been deployed to customer devices. ## A Troubled History of Face Recognition This move marks a potential revival of a technology **Meta** claimed to have "sunsetted" in 2021. At that time, **Meta** (then **Facebook**) announced it would delete over a billion faceprints from its photo-tagging system following years of legal and public backlash. The company had previously paid $5 billion to the **Federal Trade Commission** and **Department of Justice** in 2019 to settle a broader privacy case that included face-recognition issues. It also settled a class-action lawsuit for $650 million with Illinois users and, in 2024, agreed to a separate $1.4 billion settlement in Texas over unlawful biometric data collection. Internal documents published by [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/technology/meta-facial-recognition-smart-glasses.html) in February revealed **Meta**'s plans to roll out this feature during a "dynamic political environment," anticipating less scrutiny. Joseph Jerome, a former **Meta Reality Labs** policy official, noted that the decision to shut down the previous system was never considered a permanent retreat internally. ## Expert Verification and Mounting Privacy Concerns **WIRED**'s findings were independently reproduced and verified by security researchers **Cooper Quintin**, a senior public interest technologist with the **Electronic Frontier Foundation**’s Threat Lab, and **Buchodi**, an independent security and privacy researcher. Quintin stated, "Despite the billions of reasons not to, **Meta** seems to have created the capacity to turn their customers into a distributed surveillance machine." Buchodi successfully demonstrated the system's recognition pipeline by adding a faceprint of **Michel Foucault**, which the app correctly identified. Buchodi's full technical analysis is available [here](http://www.buchodi.com/meta-glasses-facial-recognition/). More than 70 advocacy groups, including the **American Civil Liberties Union**, **Electronic Privacy Information Center**, and **Fight for the Future**, previously urged **Meta** to abandon "NameTag." They warned that embedding face recognition into a mass-market wearable could normalize a dangerous technology, making it accessible to stalkers and abusers. ## Meta's Response and Future Implications **Meta** spokesperson **Ryan Daniels** acknowledged the findings, stating, "We've said before we're exploring these types of features, and what you're seeing is just evidence of that exploration. Nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything." Daniels also clarified, "One decision we can be clear about—we are not building a central face database." However, **WIRED**'s code review indicates the "NameTag" system is currently designed to pull faceprints from **Meta**'s servers and store them on user devices. **EssilorLuxottica**, the manufacturer of the smart glasses with **Meta**, has not responded to requests for comment. Privacy law professor **Woodrow Hartzog** of **Boston University** warns against the normalization of such technologies, even with opt-in mechanisms. He argues that consent can often be coerced, and widespread deployment can shift public perception, making invasive surveillance seem "unexceptional." As the technology sits dormant but ready, the debate intensifies over **Meta**'s commitment to user privacy and the potential for its smart glasses to become personal surveillance tools.