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Meta's Glasses Will Turn Off the Camera If You Tamper With the Privacy Light (theverge.com) 67

Posted by BeauHD from the no-light-no-camera dept.
Meta is rolling out an update that will disable the camera on its smart glasses if the device detects that someone has tampered with or destroyed the privacy LED. "The update is meant to address modders who have taken actions such as physically drilling into the LED light," reports The Verge.

"Meta has previously tried to discourage tampering with the LED light. For example, starting with its second generation glasses, blocking the light with tape or other objects will trigger a prompt asking users to uncover the recording light. However, many modders have found various workarounds for that particular measure."

Meta's Glasses Will Turn Off the Camera If You Tamper With the Privacy Light More | Reply

Meta's Glasses Will Turn Off the Camera If You Tamper With the Privacy Light

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  • It certainly is good that any of the properties of an LED that you can measure cheaply and reliably enough to get away with using in consumer electronics are 100% distinct from those of other components or precisely the same LED covered with opaque epoxy.

    Just detecting that there's now an open circuit where a diode should be would be fairly trivial and cover the cruder drilling cases; but this will be cosmetic at best against any moderately motivated tampering.
    • I'm sure I will come up with other ideas, but it seems like they could put a photodetector next to the LED, next to the die in the LED, or use the LED itself as a light detector. If it is dark, it is broken.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

        they could put a photodetector next to the LED

        Which you could replace with a resistor connected to where the LED used to be.

        use the LED itself as a light detector.

        Ditto.

        It's difficult to defeat someone who's moderately competent and has access to the hardware.

        • Replace the LED with infrared

          • Replace the LED with infrared

            I think the bigger issue is that it's probably not possible to non-destructively disassemble the glasses.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Z80a ( 971949 )

          You probably can replace the Light emitting diode by a regular ass, non-light emitting diode

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

            Well, not if you're using it as a photodetector, or detecting the light it produces, as suggested by the GP.

        • It's difficult to defeat someone who's moderately competent and has access to the hardware.

          I think what you are describing goes well beyond the capabilities of Joe Consumer

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

            Joe Consumer doesn't really care about disabling the LED on his funny glasses. Joe Creep does, and is pretty highly motivated to do so. He might not have the gumption to follow an Internet How-To that involves a soldering iron, but he's clearly got too much money and can pay someone like the shops mentioned in the summary to do it for him.

    • Re:I'm sure. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Nkwe ( 604125 ) on Wednesday July 08, 2026 @07:13PM (#66229048)
      They could flicker the LED in some random pattern and then look for corresponding lighting level changes in the images captured. The flicker could be fast enough that it wouldn't appear to flicker to a human.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by allo ( 1728082 )

        So the glasses only work in dark rooms? What do you think how much the brightness of a camera image showing a scene in the sunshine changes when lighting a LED? Even indoors with average lighting the camera noise is probably higher than the change induced by the LED. It's an indicator light, not a spotlight.

    • LEDs can actually be used to measure light as well as emit light (PWM it for both). Meta glasses could measure the light using the LED, then compare the light readings against the camera measurements. They could then detect a damaged LED (unable to measure) or covered LED (much less light). Heck, they could even use that measurement to control the camera exposure (cover the LED, all your recordings become overexposed until the algorithm detects the discrepancy and shuts off the camera).

    • Just detecting that there's now an open circuit where a diode should be would be fairly trivial and cover the cruder drilling cases; but this will be cosmetic at best against any moderately motivated tampering.

      I really don't understand how Slashdot even attracts the kind of person who, knowing nothing about a subject, writes a comment about it without even looking it up. What exactly is the draw for you?

  • Define 'tamper" (Score:4, Insightful)

    by 4wdloop ( 1031398 ) on Wednesday July 08, 2026 @05:18PM (#66228864)

    Painting or taping over? Does it actually require you to look at the mirror every 2 minutes?

    • Painting or taping over?

      Yes.

      "Meta has previously tried to discourage tampering with the LED light. For example, starting with its second generation glasses, blocking the light with tape or other objects will trigger a prompt asking users to uncover the recording light."

    • Not based on mirror (Score:5, Informative)

      by brunes69 ( 86786 ) <slashdot@noSpAm.keirstead.org> on Wednesday July 08, 2026 @09:06PM (#66229186)

      The way the tech works is the camera in the glasses itself is looking for the extra light coming from the LED, which is of a very specific frequency. If the light is not picked up by the camera within the first second of video, then the glasses are disabled. In this way, you can't disable the light, or cover it with tape, or drill it, or anything else - because if the camera can not see it, then the glasses shut off

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Just means that attacks on this mechanism (and hence the public) will take a bit more effort. I have some ideas, but do not want to give the disgusting assholes doing these modifications any help.

      • Coming next month, that LED now strobes in a unique pattern used as an identifier so all videos can be tracker to their creator.

        Is that a good feature or not? I don't know. I just know it's going to happen. Then I'm guessing every other camera will adopt similar tech. It will be mandated by law to protect our kids (meaning Facebook will push it hard so every camera sold will have to pay Facebook patient royalties on the tech).

    • Better yet, what about covering the light with a band-aid? I mean, these are the *ultimate* nerd glasses, what could possibly be more appropriate?

  • Google Glass (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Whateverthisis ( 7004192 )
    I've heard others critiquing the modern tech industry talking about how the tech industry has no real ideas, and Mark Zuckerberg is the king of that. This is yet another case. First was VR and the Metaverse, which turns out no one wanted. Then it was rapid catch up to the LLM craze, which after massive spend they are at best an also-ran and at worst barely playing. And now it's A/R glasses, which Google already tried and it failed not due to technology, but because no one asked for that.

    I don't think

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Morromist ( 1207276 )

      I feel like Zuckerberg must personally dispise facebook, because its his only real success and is just a sad place where old people endless discuss politics and share shitty hardwarming ai memes. You can kinda tell when you log in to fb - its been just squeezed for ad cash and enshittified to the max, they don't care about it at all, they want to move on, but they can't because they suck.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by unrtst ( 777550 )

      ... the tech industry has no real ideas ... First was VR and the Metaverse, which turns out no one wanted.

      About 20 million units sold. And that doesn't count the other brands of VR goggles.

      Then it was rapid catch up to the LLM craze, which after massive spend they are at best an also-ran and at worst barely playing.

      Do you know how many companies make screwdrivers? And they've been around for AGES. Pet peeve of mine is when people bash a person/company/product because it only managed to obtain 1/10th the market share that Google had - most small businesses would be massively overwhelmed by that! Support small businesses! (and yes, I know Meta is not a small business, but that furthers this point)

      And now it's A/R glasses, which Google already tried and it failed not due to technology, but because no one asked for that.

      For one, people don't have to ask for a t

      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        by dfghjk ( 711126 )

        You are the ideal customer for Meta, you cheerlead their products while demonstrating a lack of critical thinking. Meta thinks you'll be everywhere, so you have that in common.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by unrtst ( 777550 )

          Dude, you can't even read. Your ad hominem is backed up by nothing yet you want to question others thinking? Weak sauce.

          How many widgets did you sell before you stopped believing it was something no one wanted?

    • I was play GW2 so i was like ok ask met ai what is the cheapest way to get research notes.
        after 10 or so infrances it would say somehting go ot the gw and nope not there. nope cant do it nope totaly wrong. then its make a green axe. there has never been a green ax in gw2.
      then i said you 0 for 10 i have tried what ou said and it was all wrong i even asked you to make sure.
      Sorry i made things up.

    • And now it's A/R glasses, which Google already tried and it failed not due to technology, but because no one asked for that.

      What? When did Google sell AR glasses?

      No one asked for A/R glasses when Google Glass came out

      Google glass isn't AR. Whateverthisis is apparently bullshit.

  • Nah (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Morromist ( 1207276 ) on Wednesday July 08, 2026 @05:23PM (#66228876)

    I mean I'm not going to be hanging out with anyone wearing smart glasses anyway. That's an automatic trip to my permanent shit list.

    If everyone starts wearing them then that doesn't make it ok, fuck everyone in that case. Just because foot-binding was popular in China 200 years ago didn't make it ok either.

  • At least they hope this empty feature will get their product accepted.
    Their only problem is the biggest market for this product will end up harming many and helping few.

  • The real question (Score:3)

    by paul_engr ( 6280294 ) on Wednesday July 08, 2026 @05:48PM (#66228908)
    Do these glasses have face punch detection? How about user pamts shitting detection?

  • people tamper with the tamper protection.

    • LOL yup, and these things are just dumb as shit. Is there any real purpose to them other than to FPV record shit? Maybe the AI can detect shit in view, you could also just do that with the damn FB app and camera on the phone. Until these things have a screen and can do AR, they're basically useless and even with a screen and AR they're going to be useless as google glass already proved like a decade ago.

      • Is there any real purpose to them other than to FPV record shit? Maybe the AI can detect shit in view

        If the glasses could reliably detect actual shit and warn the wearer before they tread in it, that would be a genuinely useful feature.

  • Proton released a video warning about the glasses today:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • And then these scumbag "modders" will be able to offer working modification to the creeps again.

  • Don't buy them

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      On particular, as using modified versions, and in some scenarios even unmodified ones, can land you in prison.

  • Add about 20-30 additional LEDs to various other points on the frames. Maybe even program them through some animated on-off cycle like a Christmas tree light string.

    Yeah you'll look ridiculous, but then you probably already do if you're wearing those glasses.

  • They are breaking the law after all

  • Every other smart glasses manufacturer is now hoping to get some of Meta's business.
    Meta has an intrinsic problem due to the scrutiny over addictive social media so they're treading softly to not piss off the privacy advocates.

  • Soon they will be making their own glasses from off the shelf components, which means no amount of firmware updates will work.

    • There's always some way in, given enough time and resources.

      I do wonder if the camera(s) have IR filters... maybe mount IR LEDs on your shirt and normal glasses to blind the camera.

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