Meta faces a major privacy scandal after contractors in Nairobi reported reviewing sensitive and intimate footage captured by users of its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The footage, used to train the company’s AI systems, allegedly included scenes of people in bathrooms and undressing. The UK’s data regulator is now seeking information from Meta about its compliance with data protection laws.
A Nairobi-based data firm contracted by Meta has reviewed sensitive footage captured by the company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. Contractors told reporters they have seen videos of people using the toilet, getting undressed, and engaging in explicit sexual activity.
“In some videos, you can see someone going to the toilet, or getting undressed,” an unnamed source said. “I don’t think they know, because if they knew, they wouldn’t be recording.” The footage is manually annotated to train Meta‘s AI services.
“There are also sex scenes filmed with the smart glasses. Someone is wearing them, having sex. That is why this is so extremely sensitive,” a contractor stated. Workers said they felt unable to question the assignments for fear of losing their jobs.
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office stated it will contact Meta to request information on how the company complies with UK data protection law. The regulator said devices processing personal data should provide transparency and user control.
Meta‘s terms of service state that content may be reviewed by automated systems or human contractors to improve services. According to the terms, this review may be used for research and to ensure policy compliance.
John Davisson of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said the technology raises broad concerns about wearable data collection. “The wearer of the glasses cannot consent on behalf of all of the people they are encountering,” he told journalists.
Davisson added that training AI on such footage compounds privacy risks by using personal information to build models. More than 7 million pairs of the glasses were sold in 2025, according to a report. Meta did not respond to a request for comment.
