February 25, 2026 Women and girls could face heightened risks of harassment and stalking if Meta proceeds with plans to add AI facial recognition to its smart glasses, domestic abuse charities have warned. Amid the warnings, a new Android app has emerged that alerts users when smart glasses may be nearby.
Meta is reportedly exploring a feature, internally referred to as “Name Tag,” that could allow wearers to identify people they encounter and retrieve information linked to public profiles on Meta platforms. While the tool is still under development and may not enable unrestricted searches, advocates say even limited identification capabilities could be misused.
“Stalking is an extremely common tactic used by perpetrators, and an instant identification feature could place survivors in harm’s way by enabling abusers to locate and track them,” said Emma Pickering, head of tech-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment at Refuge. She added that such tools risk facilitating harassment and surveillance by allowing access to personal information without consent.
Women’s Aid also called for technology firms to embed “safety by design” principles into product development from the outset. Isabelle Younane, head of external affairs at the charity, said it is vital that companies consider how emerging technologies may be weaponized against women and girls before they are widely released.
Addressing the concerns, a Meta spokesperson has said the company is still evaluating options and would take a “thoughtful approach” before launching any facial recognition features.
Concerns about smart glasses are not limited to identification tools. Reports have surfaced of individuals being filmed without their knowledge using wearable devices that resemble ordinary eyewear. Refuge recently reported a 62 per cent rise in referrals related to tech-facilitated abuse, underscoring the growing role of connected devices in coercive and controlling behaviour.
In response to these anxieties, a hobbyist developer released an app called Nearby Glasses that scans for Bluetooth signals associated with manufacturers such as Meta and Snap. If it detects what it believes to be smart glasses, it sends a notification warning users that such devices are likely nearby. The developer described the app as a small act of resistance against expanding surveillance, while acknowledging it is imperfect and may generate false positives.
