Guide · Camera & Privacy

Meta Glasses Privacy Settings: What Goes to Meta, and What You Can Change

Meta's glasses are not always recording, and most of what you capture stays on your phone. The part people miss is the AI: every 'Hey Meta' voice request is stored in Meta's cloud by default, and footage you ask the assistant to look at can be reviewed by human contractors. This is what the settings do, what they no longer let you do, and the habits that matter more than any toggle.

Written by Mike M. · Owner, Iron Mako Media

Published September 21, 2026

Part of the Camera & Privacy hub.

What goes where

Meta's app menus change with updates; Tom's Guide (2026) describes a Settings > Privacy area and cloud-media and voice-activity controls in the Meta AI app. Confirm the current paths in your app.
Data	Default	Can you change it?	Source
Photos and videos you capture	Stored on the glasses, then your phone	Yes — keep cloud processing off and do not share; they stay local	Tom's Guide; Meta newsroom
'Hey Meta' voice recordings and transcripts	Stored in Meta's cloud, up to one year, used to improve products	No opt-out since April 2025; you can delete recordings manually	TechCrunch (Apr 30, 2025); Tom's Guide
Images you ask Meta AI about	Sent to Meta; eligible for AI training and human review; not saved to gallery; faces and plates blurred	Only by not using the vision features	Tom's Guide; Meta store privacy page
Cloud processing of media	A setting	Yes — can be turned off	Tom's Guide
AI features on the glasses	Enabled by default since April 2025	Individual features can be switched off; 'Hey Meta' wake word can be disabled	TechCrunch; Tom's Guide

The April 2025 change

TechCrunch reported on April 30, 2025 that Meta emailed Ray-Ban Meta owners a privacy-policy update: AI features enabled by default, Meta's AI analyzing photos and videos taken while certain AI features are on, and voice recordings stored “to improve its products, without an option to opt out.” Meta's voice notice says transcripts and recordings can be kept for up to one year; a customer who does not want their voice used has to delete each recording manually in the app. Tom's Guide, writing after the March 2026 lawsuit, confirms: “You cannot opt out of voice recording storage — that option was removed in April 2025.”

The human-review part

Tom's Guide summarizes the Swedish newspapers' investigation: contractors at a Kenyan subcontractor review footage users sent to Meta AI, including private moments, as permitted by Meta's AI terms. The key clarification in the same article: “The content isn't being recorded behind users' backs; it's footage that users themselves triggered, but often without realizing it would be seen by a human being overseas.” The trigger is asking the assistant to look at something. The privacy concerns page covers the lawsuit itself.

The five changes Tom's Guide recommends

Check the privacy settings in the Meta app and turn off anything you did not intentionally enable.
Disable cloud processing for photos and videos so media stays on your device.
Understand you cannot opt out of voice storage — but you can delete recordings; make it a habit.
Disable “Hey Meta” if you do not use the assistant; photos and calls still work.
Be mindful of when you use AI vision — that is the moment footage becomes eligible for review. Think twice in private settings.

The sixth, from the same piece, is about the people around you: do not leave the glasses on or recording unattended.

What the settings cannot do

They cannot turn off the capture LED (no switch exists — Meta newsroom), cannot make the glasses record without the light, and cannot stop voice storage. They also cannot make a recording legal where it is not; that is the legality page. And a bystander cannot see any of these settings, which is why the light, not the toggles, is what other people rely on.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Are Meta glasses always recording?

No. Capture starts when you press the button or say 'Hey Meta'; photos and videos stay on your phone unless you share them or turn on cloud processing (Tom's Guide, TechCrunch).

Can I stop Meta from storing my voice recordings?

Not the initial storage — the opt-out was removed in April 2025 (TechCrunch). You can delete recordings manually in the app, or disable the 'Hey Meta' wake word so there is nothing to store.

Do humans review Meta glasses footage?

Footage you send to Meta AI — by asking it to look at something — can be reviewed by human contractors under Meta's AI terms; the March 2026 lawsuit followed a Swedish investigation into that review (Tom's Guide).

How do I turn off cloud processing on Meta glasses?

In the Meta AI app's settings for the glasses, under the privacy or cloud-media controls (Tom's Guide describes the option). Menu paths change with updates; check your current app.