← Back to context

Comment by chwahoo

14 hours ago

I'll confess that I like my Meta Ray Ban glasses: I love using them to listen to podcasts at the pool/beach, while riding my bike, and it's cool to snap a quick picture of my kids without pulling out my phone.

I wish this article (or Meta) were a bit clearer about the specific connection between the device settings and use and when humans get access to the images.

My settings are:

- [OFF] "Share additional data" - Share data about your Meta devices to help improve Meta products.

- [OFF] "Cloud media" - Allow your photos and videos to be sent to Meta's cloud for processing and temporary storage.

I'm not sure whether my settings would prevent my media from being used as described in the article.

Also, it's not clear which data is being used for training:

- random photos / videos taken

- only use of "Meta AI" (e.g., "Hey Meta, can you translate this sign")

As much as I've liked my Meta Ray Ban's I'm going to need clarity here before I continue using them.

TBH, if it were only use of Meta AI, I'd "get it" but probably turn that feature off (I barely use it as-is).

I don't understand how a parent can be OK non-consenually uploading pictures of their children's real faces to an ad driven AI company famous for abusing people's data and manipulating children on their platforms.

  • It is because they don't understand the scope of the problem. People are inclined to think that other people who have treated them kindly mean well also in the long term.

  • Non-consensual? Abuse?

    The terminology you chose is tasteless, loaded, and detracts from your point.

  • Probably the majority of the planet share family photos on facebook, messenger, whatsapp or instagram - all meta properties. On the whole nothing much bad happens.

  • I don't get how private businesses allow these. It's as creepy as Google Glass, yet we don't see the same pushback.

    Is it because younger people don't care about privacy anymore?

    • Why would they disallow cameras on glasses but not cameras on phones, where it's just as easy to take pictures discreetly.

      Not to mention, hidden miniature cameras have existed for decades.

      2 replies →

    • > It's as creepy as Google Glass, yet we don't see the same pushback.

      Didn't it come out that the pushback against google glasses was in part made by PR companies on behalf of their competition? I remember reading something along those lines.

      2 replies →

    • I’ve banned them from our office, for the same reason that I’d tell someone deliberately aiming their phone camera at the screen all day to knock it off. In an office setting, you have to treat these as industrial espionage tools, either by choice of the wearer or of a remote person controlling them.

Those settings are IMO likely not doing what you think they are. Or might be doing strictly, precisely what they say they are.

[OFF] "Share data about your Meta devices to help improve Meta products." doesn't preclude sharing data for other purposes.

[OFF] "Allow your photos and videos to be sent to Meta's cloud for processing and temporary storage." doesn't preclude sending them to Meta's cloud for permanent storage.

  • And nothing is actually preventing Meta from doing what you refuse anyway. They might get caught, but what are you going to do?

Last year they pushed out an update stating if any “Meta AI” is left on, they can access image data for training,

I turned the AI off and used them as headphones and taking videos while biking. After a couple rides, I couldn’t bring myself to put them on because people started to recognize them and I realized I didn’t want to be associated with them (people are right to assume Meta has access to what they see).

Meta Ray Bans, if kept simple, could have been a great product. They ruined them.

I'll confess I look at Meta Glasses the same as Google Glasses: A big sign saying "punch me in the face". If you enter some premises I'm in while wearing those, I'm either leaving or they will have to come off your face somehow.

Wearing these glasses is just as obnoxious as walking around putting your phone in people's faces while recording.

After all that has been revealed to us over the past 15 years, it is really disheartening to see people still thinking that setting a few toggles will prevent these companies from abusing them.

Just continues to prove that if you solve a bit of inconvenience for them, people will let you exploit them and their families.

Bone conduction headphones let you listen to things while keeping your ears free, and don't upload your childrens photos to The Algorithm

So you believe that you are in control?

  • I think the most likely case is: this company is labeling images from meta AI use from people who opted-in to share their data with Meta.

    It's certainly possible that it's something much more surprising / sinister, but there is a fairly logical combination of settings that I could see a company could argue lets them use the data for training.

    I'm also very certain that few users with these settings would expect the images to be shown to actual people, so I'm not defending Meta.

    • > there is a fairly logical combination of settings

      I think it's anything but logical, if users (like yourself) have no idea what those settings are, as evident from your previous post.

A simple on/off toggle isn't going to prevent them from using your data. If your data is in their server then it's going to be used one way or another. Whether in an anonymous way or shipped to where there are no privacy laws.

I don’t know how anyone has the balls to wear them in public.

They are creepy as fuck.

I’m embarrassed to wear my non-Meta Raybans now. That logo is a liability.

Your setting is off cloud media until the company arbitrarily turns it on for you. Seems crazy now, won’t be ten years from now. They’re just boiling the frog all the way.

You might enjoy these conveniences now, but this is just the pre-enshitification stage. Soon enough, to take advantage of those features you will have advertisements integrated into your view, and your data will be scraped for whatever its worth to Meta.