In terms of their reputations for protecting privacy, among tech behemoths like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and most of all Meta, Apple is the clear winner, at least in terms of public perception. It’s fought hard, and for a long time, to be seen that way. With that in mind, a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says there’s been some turmoil within Apple lately because its luster as the anointed privacy leader in Big Tech could be tarnished somewhat when it rolls out a new product in a category now commonly referred to online as “pervert glasses.”
Gurman’s story comes, as usual, from anonymous sources, but the crux is this: Apple’s long rumored glasses product, supposedly code-named “N50” was apparently on track for an introduction this year, and a rollout in early 2027, but the glasses are now, Gurman says, going to be released in late 2027 because Apple is still crafting its “privacy message.”
It doesn’t take much of an imagination to picture what’s troubling the company. Meta’s smart glasses have been a modest success, commercially speaking. But that success has come with complications, as Meta has:
- Reportedly exposed footage of glasses users having sex and going to the bathroom to human moderators, according to Swedish investigators
- Reportedly quietly added facial recognition software to the phones of certain glasses users, according to Wired (that software later quietly disappeared, apparently)
- Had its privacy safeguards easily bypassed (though it has sought to tighten these measures since then)
And products in this category are now banned in courtrooms in multiple jurisdictions. They were also publicly trashed by Lorde to the screams and applause of her fans.
So Apple knows it has to, theoretically, be the Gallant to Meta’s Goofus. “The teams developing glasses within Apple’s Vision hardware group and elsewhere in the company see privacy as priority No. 1, I’m told,” Gurman says.
But when it comes to a product in this category, actually ranking privacy number 1 on a list of concerns would arguably mean simply vowing not to release a product that, were it sold in the recent past, would be universally understood as a spy tool, like the hat Homer Simpson wore to uncover health violations at Kwik-E-Mart.
Meta has at least implied that it’s working on a camera-free pair of smart glasses. Apple has reportedly “prototyped” something along those lines too. It has also considered the strange option of “including the full camera system but not allowing it to record photos or video at all,” Gurman says.
But is Apple actually going to release a line of smart glasses and not include photography functions in the flagship model? First-person photos and video are obviously a massive selling point, and Apple famously enjoys when people buy lots of its products. So dream on.
Gurman says Apple’s actual steps toward protecting its privacy-focused image are more likely to include:
- Processing data on the device itself, not in the cloud
- Probably not sending footage out to be reviewed by human moderators
- Excluding any sort of always-on recording mode like the one Meta is reportedly working on
- Not using images from its glasses product to train AI models
In fairness, Gurman’s report is unconfirmed and this is not to be taken as an exhaustive list of Apple’s privacy protections.
English (US) ·