Meta has reportedly tested facial recognition technology from a company with ties to U.S. law enforcement and military customers, according to a new report that adds to growing concerns about the company’s smart glasses ambitions.
Wired reported that Meta has been working with Rank One, a firm that sells biometric and surveillance tools to government agencies, on an unreleased facial recognition feature for its wearable devices. The report says the work is connected to a test version of Meta’s facial recognition system, which was previously found in the Meta AI app in dormant form and later removed.
According to the report, license documents reviewed by Wired indicate that Meta’s agreement with Rank One covers both face recognition and liveness detection, a method used to determine whether a camera is looking at a real person rather than a photo, mask, or other impersonation attempt. Wired also said it found references in code inside the Meta AI app to Rank One software, including routines related to loading a license and activating the facial recognition feature.
Rank One is not just another consumer software vendor. Wired reported that the company has contracts with institutions including the U.S. Marshals Service, which has used its facial recognition tools to identify prisoners without fingerprinting them. The company has also worked with the U.S. Special Operations Command on technology meant to identify faces from long distances and with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which uses Rank One’s technology for surveillance, according to the report.
Meta has not publicly explained the scope of its relationship with Rank One or the company’s role in any future smart glasses product. Still, the evidence cited by Wired suggests the company may be continuing to develop some kind of face recognition feature for its wearable hardware. A security researcher quoted by the outlet said code in the Meta AI app indicated the tool was close to being ready.
The report comes at a sensitive time for Meta’s wearable strategy. The company has been positioning smart glasses as a major part of its hardware future, but the idea of adding facial recognition has already prompted concern from privacy advocates and lawmakers. A feature that can identify people on sight would likely intensify debates over consent, surveillance, and data collection in public spaces.
The involvement of Rank One could make those questions even harder for Meta to answer. Partnerships with companies that supply tools to police and military agencies may be technically useful, but they also carry political and reputational risk when tied to consumer products worn on the face and used in everyday settings.
Meta has not confirmed whether the feature will ever reach users. For now, the report suggests the company is at least testing the technical and legal boundaries of a capability that could turn smart glasses into much more than an augmented reality accessory.