They were labelled 'pervert glasses'. Will a camera-free version transform their image?
Meta has unveiled audio-only smart glasses, with some questioning whether it is a response to the backlash over privacy.
When Meta first launched its AI-powered smart glasses in 2023, in collaboration with the trendy sunglasses brand Ray-Ban, it unleashed a storm of controversy.
There have been multiple reports of the devices being used to harass women and girls in particular, filming them without their consent, then sharing the footage.
The image problem doesn't seem to have been cured by Meta's enlistment this summer of Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian's sister, as their prime model. The devices have been dubbed "pervert" or "creepy" glasses. In the UK, JD Wetherspoon pubs, a handful of major theatres, Comic-Con, some schools, and Faslane, home of the UK's nuclear submarines, have all chosen to ban them.
Meta says less than 0.1% of the frames it has sold worldwide have been physically tampered with. Exact sales figures are unknown, but Ray-Ban's parent company EssilorLuxottica has reported that it sold seven million last year.