The Facebook and Ray-Ban smart glasses look cool… but no thanks

Time for a magic trick. Imagine, if you will, the company you’d trust least to have access to a camera on your head. Repeat that business’ name in your mind. Keep going…

Now, I’m going to use my powers of deduction to guess who you’re thinking of.

It’s Facebook, isn’t it? Of course it is.

In case you’ve missed the news, Facebook and Ray-Ban have worked together to create a pair of smart glasses. The official launch of these is yet to happen (although this will probably have changed by the time you read this), but the product has already been leaked by Evan Blass.

facebook and ray-ban smart glasses — These are the “Round” models, there are also “Wayfarer” and “Meteor” options.

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Without getting bogged down in details, these are simply a pair of sunglasses with cameras attached. A fancier pair of Snap Spectacles if you will.

Aesthetics-wise, I’m into it. This Facebook and Ray-Ban collaboration is an amazing idea if you want to normalize having a camera on your sunglasses. People buy these things in droves anyway, so you’re bound to hook in a chunk of people with the promise of easy photography alongside style.

Thing is… nah. This product has elicited the hardest pass possible from me.

Look, I’d love to try the Facebook and Ray-Ban smart glasses, but there is no way in hell I’d actually use these day-to-day. Facebook simply can’t be trusted.

From Cambridge Analytica to scamming teens to sell off their personal data, Facebook has repeatedly and continually violated people’s privacy. Even moving beyond the never-ending array of scandals, the platform is essentially an advertizer.

Its goal is to harvest your information to sell ads. That’s it.

And you know what’s an absolutely fantastic data source? A pair of cameras attached to your head.

Look, I’m sure Facebook will big up all the privacy aspects of its smart glasses at launch, but it’ll be like the Portal: all words, no substance.

The Facebook and Ray-Ban smart glasses may not be a complete nightmare and film everything you do, but all the pictures and videos you take are going to be stored on a server somewhere in order to build a more accurate advertizer profile of you.

As useful and cool as the smart glasses are, this pay-off isn’t worth it. For anyone. So, Facebook and Ray-Ban? Thanks, but no thanks.

Story by Callum Booth

Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting (show all) Callum Booth is a freelance journalist with over a decade of experience. Previously, he was the Managing Editor of TNW, where his reporting was cited widely, including in VICE, the FT, and the BBC. Callum’s writing has appeared in The Verge, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, and many more. He covers the full spectrum of technology, with a particular focus on how it shapes our daily lives. And a lot of regulation stuff too. Outside of work, Callum’s an avid bookworm, a Fisherman’s Friends addict, and resolutely unshaven. Follow him on Twitter @CallumBooth or visit www.callumbooth.net.