Meta May Have Found a Fix for Its 'Pervert Glasses'

Meta is reportedly building a camera-free variant of its smart glasses, internally dubbed Luna, with plans that could bring the product to market as early as October. According to people familiar with the project, Luna replaces the camera found in current Ray-Ban Meta models with six integrated microphones and a side-mounted button to activate Meta AI on demand. The design is said to include slimmer temples and speakers similar to those already used in Meta's Ray-Ban line.

The Luna glasses would lean on voice interactions rather than hands-free point-of-view photography and video. The microphones are expected to connect to Meta AI and Muse, the company’s newly launched personal AI agent, enabling conversational functions without an onboard camera. Two styles of the glasses are reportedly in development under the internal names Clubmaster and Burbank.

The reported pivot comes after a year of intense backlash against Meta’s camera-equipped Ray-Ban models. Investigations by the BBC and others revealed instances of people being recorded without consent and contractors viewing sensitive footage, and the product has been the subject of class-action lawsuits and a Texas attorney general inquiry. Civil liberties groups, including an ACLU-led coalition, also pressured Meta over facial-recognition plans tied to wearable devices.

Government and law-enforcement responses heightened the scrutiny: internal memos from agencies like the NYPD and Homeland Security warned about the potential for covert filming in secure locations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prohibited its employees from wearing the camera glasses at work. By removing the camera, Luna would avoid the primary source of those privacy and security concerns, though it would also eliminate the hands-free photo and video features that initially attracted many buyers.

If the October timeline is accurate, Meta could unveil Luna at its Connect developer conference on September 23 and 24 and start shipping the new model shortly thereafter. The reported changes suggest Meta is experimenting with lowering the privacy risks tied to wearable hardware while maintaining a foothold in the AI-driven glasses market.