Meta has quietly added a facial recognition feature called 'NameTag' into its Meta AI companion app that works with Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses, starting in January 2026 [1, 2]. The app, downloaded over 50 million times, contains code that can convert faces seen by the glasses’ camera into biometric faceprints and compare them to those stored on users’ phones, though the feature is not currently active or accessible to users [1].
NameTag is designed to notify wearers when it recognizes a face and to save unknown faces in a pending folder for review [1, 2, 3]. Internal Meta documents revealed plans to roll out facial recognition during a politically "dynamic environment" to minimize backlash [1, 2, 3]. This comes after Meta sunsetted similar facial recognition technology in 2021 following privacy controversies and a $650 million settlement [1, 3]. Meta also settled another biometric data case in Texas in 2024 for $1.4 billion [1].
In April 2026, Meta publicly said it was "taking a very thoughtful approach" and still "thinking through" the use of facial recognition, confirming the feature was not yet enabled [1, 2]. However, over 70 organizations including the ACLU demanded that Meta halt its NameTag facial recognition plans that month [2]. Cooper Quintin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation warned, "The feature is not yet exposed to consumers but seems nearly ready to go. Despite the billions of reasons not to, Meta seems to have created the capacity to turn their customers into a distributed surveillance machine" [2].
A security researcher confirmed that no part of NameTag is currently running or sending biometric data to Meta’s servers [3]. The unfolding situation highlights ongoing privacy concerns as Meta tests facial recognition capabilities embedded discreetly in a widely downloaded app.
Meta will likely face pressure from advocacy groups and regulators as it decides whether to activate NameTag. For now, the feature remains dormant and subject to internal debate and external scrutiny [1, 2].
