Overview
- The New York Times reports Meta aims to add a 'Name Tag' feature to its Ray‑Ban and Oakley smart glasses as soon as this year to identify people and surface information via its AI assistant.
- An internal Reality Labs document quoted by outlets outlines plans to debut during a period when watchdog groups may be preoccupied, after an earlier idea to pilot the feature at a conference for the blind did not happen.
- Meta says it is still evaluating options and has not finalized the feature, with proposals to limit recognition to people connected on Meta platforms or public Instagram accounts and to avoid universal lookups.
- Facebook shut down photo‑tagging facial recognition in 2021, and Meta’s past privacy actions include FTC oversight and multibillion‑dollar settlements in Illinois and Texas over biometric data.
- Strong sales of Ray‑Ban Meta glasses (about seven million in 2025) and work on always‑on 'super‑sensing' models are driving interest, as civil‑liberties groups warn of abuse and a 2024 subway experiment showed real‑world risks.