Meta bricked the cameras on thousands of its AI glasses

Bloomberg/Getty Images Meta dropped the hammer on thousands of its AI glasses users who it detected physically tampering with the recording light.

Meta has rolled out updates in recent weeks to combat bad actors in an effort to improve the glasses' reputation.

Meta says that less than .1% of all glasses were being tampered with (and have now had their cameras permanently disabled).

Thousands of Meta's AI glasses no longer have functioning cameras after the company detected people tampering with the recording indicator lights.

Meta announced new efforts in recent weeks to crack down on people who drill out or cover up the tiny lights on their Meta glasses, which can make it easier to surreptitiously record people.

On Tuesday, Meta confirmed it's already shut down the cameras on thousands of devices following a software update intended to combat bad actors.

The company said the enforcement action impacted the newest update affected less than one tenth of a percent of all Meta AI glasses sold.

Semafor first reported the news.

Meta has not released information on how many total devices have been sold since they were launched in 2021, but 7 million were sold in 2025 alone (at the .1% number, that would account for 7,000 pairs of glasses that were physically tampered with).

Meta glasses have gained a somewhat fraught reputation lately, with some people referring to them as "pervert glasses." Business Insider has previously reported on Instagram's bumpy attempts to remove harassing content filmed on Meta glasses in public spaces.

The glasses have always had an indicator light to show when they're recording, but people have found ways to hide or disable the light.

The company is responding to that criticism with several new lines of defense, including a new PR blitz.

On Monday, Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, said in an Instagram ask-me-anything story post that the glasses are "the most privacy-forward camera" for consumers.

"You haven't had a camera that put a light on when it took a photo or video of somebody since you had like a VHS tape recorder in the 90s," he said, referencing the light that flashes when the glasses are recording.