Meta lets smart glasses users opt out of AI training on visual data

Meta has started rolling out a setting that lets owners of its smart glasses opt out of allowing the company to use visual data collected by the device to train AI models. The option is now available in the Meta AI app, and Meta has begun notifying glasses owners about the change with a pop-up.

Where to find the setting

In the notification, Meta says the glasses can translate a menu, identify a plant and more, and that users can opt out of providing visual data from those experiences to Meta for product improvement. "If you opt out, that data isn't stored after processing," the pop-up reads.

The notification links to the relevant settings page, but users can also find it directly: open the settings for your glasses, select "Meta AI" and scroll down to "store visual data from AI experiences." The glasses have to be out of their case and connected to the phone to change the setting. Owners of several pairs must repeat the step for each one.

What opting out can cost

Opting out may prevent users from using certain features, Meta says, including "visual reminders," such as looking at an object and asking Meta AI to remind you to buy it next week. The company has not said whether any other features are affected.

Human review in the fine print

Alongside the setting, Meta published a more detailed help center article about how it uses visual data, and that article explicitly mentions the possibility of human review. When someone uses AI experiences on Meta glasses, such as asking about something they are looking at or using Live AI, Meta stores the resulting visual data and may use it to power glasses features and improve its products. That includes training and improving AI models, which, in Meta's words, "may be automated or manual (human)."

Meta says it only stores visual data collected while using certain AI features, including Live AI. It does not include "photos and videos you capture with your glasses when the capture LED is on."