Meta could be preparing to enter the always-on AI wearables race. The company is developing prototype “super sensing” smart glasses designed to stay continuously aware, potentially recording audio and taking photos “every few seconds,” according to the Financial Times. Users would then be able to ask Meta AI questions based on what the glasses had heard or seen.
That does not necessarily mean wearers would get direct access to the captured photos or audio. The FT outlined one possible approach for how the glasses might process that information:
In one proposed system, raw footage and audio would not be stored by Meta or made available to the user, several people said. Instead, the metadata from that audio and images would be extracted and uploaded to the server for Meta’s AI to query, which proponents argue would have fewer privacy implications.
Still, Meta is currently considering keeping the LED recording light turned off while the glasses are in “super sensing” mode, the FT reports. In a July 2025 whitepaper, the company said the indicator would be reserved for “active capture” moments, such as when a wearer saves photos or videos, while remaining off during “AI Feature” interactions like reading a menu. Meta argued that this would prevent people from becoming desensitized to the light. If the indicator stayed on throughout “super sensing,” it could also make it less clear when video recording was actually taking place.
The company is also weighing whether data gathered through the feature could be used to train its AI systems. According to the FT, Meta may additionally extend “super sensing” capabilities to smart glasses that are already on the market.
“While we don’t comment on internal prototypes, we’re committed to getting our glasses right because they need to be loved by both people wearing them and those around them,” Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold says in a statement to The Verge. Arnold also says, “Our approach has been to develop new technologies that will help people throughout their day, with privacy built in from the ground up.”
Meta has already signaled that some form of always-aware glasses could be part of its roadmap. During the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was “really excited to see the glasses evolve from being able to answer questions to being able to be a personal agent that’s with you all day long, helping you remember things and achieve your goals.” In a March blog post about new Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Meta also wrote that “with ongoing software updates, Meta AI on glasses will transition from something you have to prompt with a question each time, to a more continuous, in-the-moment assistant that can help throughout the day.”
