Meta quietly shipped facial recognition code to millions of phones — then pulled it
Meta has removed hidden facial recognition code from its AI app after Wired exposed it on June 4, 2026. The feature, internally called NameTag, had been sitting dormant inside the app — used to connect Meta's Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses to a phone — since at least January 2026. It was distributed to more than 50 million devices without any user notification.
What NameTag actually did
The code could convert any captured face into a biometric identifier, store that signature locally on the device, and compare it against a database that received updates from Meta's servers. The feature was not active and was not uploading data, but according to EFF experts per Engadget, the system was described as "nearly ready." Meta VP of Communications Andy Stone called it an early-stage exploration with no final decision made — a statement that landed just hours before the company quietly pushed an update removing the code entirely.
The New York Times had reported on an identical internal project in February 2026, naming NameTag specifically. Internal documents also referenced timing the feature's potential launch around a "dynamic political environment" — a detail that drew its own scrutiny.
A pattern regulators are watching
Meta is no stranger to biometric liability. The company has paid over $2 billion in settlements tied to biometric data collection — $650 million under Illinois' BIPA law and $1.4 billion in Texas. A class action lawsuit, partly stemming from a February 2026 scandal involving overseas contractors manually reviewing intimate footage, alleges that Meta's "privacy at core" marketing directly contradicts the NameTag code's existence, per Road to VR.
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has already contacted Meta over compliance with British data protection law, reports Decrypt. In the US, there is no federal ban on facial recognition, but the FTC has authority over unfair and deceptive practices — and the speed of Meta's code removal may itself become evidence in that argument.
What it means if you own the glasses
If you use Meta's Ray-Ban or Oakley smart glasses, NameTag was never active on your device — but it was there. The updated Meta AI app no longer contains the code. For now, the most concrete action is keeping the app updated and monitoring whether regulators in the US or UK take enforcement steps beyond the initial contact already made.
The broader concern is architectural: the glasses can capture footage, that footage connects to an AI app, and that app — until this week — contained the skeleton of a real-time facial recognition system. The hardware didn't change. Only the code was removed.