Meta removed facial recognition components from the latest version of the Meta AI app for smart points after publishing an investigation of WIRED. Journalists discovered a hidden NameTag system in the code, which allowed people to create biometric profiles, save their images, and index faces without users' knowledge.

Although Meta representatives initially called the investigation "unreliable", the company released an update in which libraries for identification were removed, folders to store processed photos and notifications of successful recognition. The code also contained references to plans to launch the system during a "dynamic political environment" when privacy issues, as designed by the developers, will be less relevant. Technical Director Meta Andrew Bosworth had previously argued that the final decision to implement the technology had not yet been made.

The human rights organization ACLU criticized the actions of Meta, saying that the hidden introduction of such a code confirms the need for strict legal regulation of the collection of biometric data. Currently, only a few mentions of the system in the debug menu are left in the app and Meta refused to comment on the reasons for deleting the code. It is worth noting that this is not the first scandal around the device: in March, a group lawsuit was filed against the company over the transfer of intimate personnel removed from smart glasses to contractors in Kenya.