Meta Smart Glasses Sales Boom Amid Recording Privacy Fears

Meta sold more than 2 million pairs of its AI-powered smart glasses last year, and that number keeps climbing. The devices look like ordinary Ray-Bans, which is exactly the problem: there's no light, no sound, no obvious tell when someone nearby is recording. Meta isn't the only company making these things, but its glasses dominate the market, and their spread has already pushed some venues to act.

Schools, courts, restaurants, and entertainment spots have started banning them outright. DEF CON 2026 organizers reportedly went further, banning smart glasses with no exceptions at all, even telling attendees who need prescription lenses to bring a "non-violating" pair instead.

The trouble is that a ban only works if someone catches the violation. Security staff need to know what they're looking at, and enforcement often comes down to whether a user admits what they're wearing or a stranger decides to say something. Privacy advocates see these bans as a useful pushback, but not a fix. Without federal privacy law forcing Meta's hand, the company has little reason to slow down, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation says the next round of features could make the recording problem worse, not better.