Instagram cracks down on creators filming creepy videos with Meta glasses

In a decisive move to combat growing privacy concerns, Instagram has announced it will remove content filmed with Meta’s smart glasses that harasses or exploits strangers in public places.

The policy comes after widespread criticism over the glasses being used for invasive recording and inappropriate “pickup” videos.

The new update is confirmed by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, who stated that content showing people being taken advantage of or harassed will be taken down.

In an Instagram Story response, he said: “We don’t want people to be surreptitiously taking videos of other people and harassing them and then posting them on our platform.”

It aims at some of the troubling categories of content, such as videos by pickup artists in which men approach unsuspecting women in gyms, shops, and even on the streets, as well as prank videos against shop assistants, cashiers, and restaurant employees. Meta has already blocked two pickup-artist accounts with more than one million followers for breaching the platform's harassment rules.

Ray-Ban glasses from Meta, which were first launched in 2021, are becoming more and more popular yet controversial owing to the capability of silent recording in them. Although there is a small white LED light that lights up during recording, people claim that it can be ignored. Meta has recently rolled out new software updates that shut off the camera when the recording indicator is disabled.

Meta glasses have received public backlash and security concerns and are widely referred to as “pervert glasses” and “predator glasses” on social media, prompting Meta to take action.

Despite all these precautions, however, there are still concerns about enforcement policies and how Instagram will determine harassment during recordings.

Though Meta tries to argue that these glasses have many valid purposes such as traveling, playing sports and helping people with disabilities, this is still a major move in dealing with the sinister sides of wearable recording devices.