Ray-Ban Meta privacy settings: what to change on day one

Why the first ten minutes matter

Ray-Ban Meta glasses are easy to set up and easy to forget about, which is exactly why the privacy settings deserve attention before you start wearing them. The glasses carry a camera, an array of microphones and a voice assistant that sends requests to Meta's servers. Several of the defaults lean toward sharing more data with Meta, and some important behaviours are not obvious from the setup screens.

Cameron's own review of the Gen 2 glasses puts it simply: every owner should open the privacy settings in the Meta AI app on day one. This guide walks through the settings that matter most, what each one actually does according to Meta's own documentation, and where Meta does not give you a real choice. Menu names move around between app versions, so if a label does not match your screen exactly, look under the Glasses privacy and Meta AI sections described below.

Voice recordings: you can delete them, but probably not stop them

This is the setting people most often go looking for and cannot find. Meta's voice privacy notice for AI glasses, effective July 22, 2025, says voice recordings and transcripts from Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses are stored by default to help improve Meta products, and are kept for up to one year unless you delete them sooner. Accidental activations, which Meta calls false wakes, are still recorded and are deleted within 90 days of being detected. The notice also says trained human reviewers may listen to stored recordings, with the pitch of the audio altered.

When Meta made this change in April 2025, TechCrunch reported that owners could no longer opt out of voice recording storage, and that deleting recordings was the way to keep them from being used. In August 2026, Engadget reported that US owners still cannot opt out of cloud storage of voice interactions, while users in the EU can. Meta's notices vary by region, and we could not find a Canada-specific statement, so check what your own app offers.

What you can do is delete. Engadget points to the Voice activity log under Settings, Glasses, Glasses privacy in the Meta AI app. Make reviewing and clearing it a regular habit, perhaps monthly. Meta's notice also describes a Download Your Information tool if you want to see what has been kept.

Decide how much the assistant listens

The Hey Meta wake word is convenient, but it is also what keeps the glasses ready to respond. Cameron's review notes that camera-based AI features stay available unless you turn the wake word off, and TechCrunch reported in 2025 that Meta's AI features are switched on by default. If you mostly use the glasses for music, calls and photos, consider turning Hey Meta off and using the touchpad and capture button instead.

A related setting is Respond without Hey Meta, which Meta's help centre says is on by default. It keeps the microphone open for a short time after each request so you can ask follow-up questions, with the notification LED showing when audio is being processed. Meta's path is: Glasses icon, Device settings, your glasses, Meta AI, Hey Meta preferences. Turning it off means you repeat the wake word each time, but the microphone closes sooner after you finish.

Turn off cloud media unless you need it

Photos and videos you take normally stay on your phone. Meta's help centre describes Cloud media as an optional setting that sends photos and videos to Meta's cloud for processing and temporary storage, which some features need, such as sending a photo by voice. Media sent this way is stored for 30 days and then deleted automatically, and deleting an item from the app's gallery removes it from the cloud and your phone's photo app as well.

You will find it under Glasses, Device settings, your glasses, then Glasses privacy and the Cloud media toggle. If you do not use voice sharing or similar features, leave it off. Engadget reported that Meta says it does not use photo and video content for advertising or AI training whether this setting is on or off, but keeping media local is still the simpler privacy position.

Share less usage data

On the same Glasses privacy screen you can choose whether to share additional data. Meta's help centre separates essential data, such as battery status, connectivity, software version and crash reports, which is always used to keep the device working and secure, from additional data about how and how often you use the glasses. Additional data is optional and is used to improve products and personalize your experience.

Meta says this choice does not include the photos and videos captured by your glasses, and that it applies to every device paired with the app. If you agreed during setup without thinking about it, this is a quick setting to revisit.

Be careful with what you show Meta AI

Asking Meta AI about what you are looking at is different from taking a photo. Engadget reported that these camera-based requests send an image to Meta, that the image is not saved to your camera roll, and that Meta does store it. The same report says some of this data is reviewed and labelled by contractors, and Cameron's review mentions a 2026 US class action over contractors reviewing private footage.

No toggle fixes this completely, so the practical answer is behaviour. Do not point the camera AI at documents with personal details, bank cards, prescriptions, screens at work or other people's children. If you would not hand a stranger a photo of it, do not ask the glasses to describe it.

Respect the people around you, and the road

The white capture LED is the main signal to bystanders. Meta's privacy page says the LED blinks during photos and stays lit for the length of a video, and that the camera is disabled if the light is covered, tampered with or destroyed. The Star reported in September 2026 that Meta had pushed an update so covering the LED during a recording also stops the camera, closing a workaround some owners had used. Even so, plenty of people will not notice a small light, so ask before recording in shops, gyms, change rooms or around children, and put the glasses away where cameras are not welcome.

Driving deserves its own rule. Cameron uses his glasses only for hands-free calls in the car and never uses the camera or Meta AI while driving. Ontario's distracted driving rules allow hands-free devices for calls but prohibit holding devices and having non-driving displays visible to the driver, with fines, demerit points and licence suspensions for convictions. Rules differ by province, so check yours, and treat camera and AI features as off-limits behind the wheel.

From a tech standpoint

You cannot make Ray-Ban Meta glasses fully private, but ten minutes in the Meta AI app gets you much closer. Turn off cloud media and additional data sharing if you do not need them, think hard about the wake word, and clear your voice activity log regularly. The habits around the camera and the car matter just as much as the toggles.