Last month, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta became embroiled in a major controversy after Wired found that it had discreetly included facial recognition tech in the software of its lineup of popular smart glasses.
The camera-equipped spectacles had already become a privacy lightning rod, with users secretly recording strangers, often without their consent — earning the spectacles the pejorative nickname of “pervert glasses.”
Now, in addition to their already steep price, Meta’s AI-enabled glasses will become even more expensive, thanks to a $19.99 a month subscription that will “rate limit” their sought-after AI features, as The Verge reports.
Meta is launching a new Meta One Premium subscription that will be required for anybody trying to get the most out of their pricy eyewear. While the company insists that owners technically don’t have to shell out $20 a month, even premium subscribers will be locked out after using 15 hours of “Conversation Focus,” a feature that amplifies the voices of people you’re talking to, per month. Without a subscription, owners are restricted to just three hours of the feature a month.
