Instagram announced it will begin removing videos recorded with Meta smart glasses that depict the harassment of strangers in public, expanding its efforts to curb abusive content created with wearable technology.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri revealed the new policy in response to a question posted to his Instagram story, saying the platform will take action against videos that exploit or harass people without their consent.
“If you’re posting content that is taking advantage of people and harassing them, like a lot of these pickup line kind of videos that we’ve heard of and seen, then we’re going to take the content down,” Mosseri said.
“We don’t want people to be surreptitiously taking videos of other people and harassing them and then posting them on our platform. So we’re trying to fight that every way we can,” he added.
The policy targets a growing trend of content creators using Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses to secretly record interactions with strangers, including pickup attempts and prank videos that have become popular across Instagram Reels and TikTok.
According to Business Insider, prank videos have included creators secretly recording themselves while bothering service industry employees, including incidents in which pranksters sprayed foul-smelling substances into retail candles before asking workers to smell them.
Following the announcement, Business Insider reported that at least two popular pickup artist accounts with more than one million followers each had been deactivated.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed the accounts were removed for violating Instagram’s new policy governing harassing content recorded with the company’s smart glasses.
Meta has not disclosed how it plans to identify violations or what specific conduct will qualify for removal beyond harassment involving unsuspecting members of the public.
The company also has not outlined whether enforcement will rely on user reports, automated detection systems or other moderation tools.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses include a built-in indicator light designed to notify nearby people when video recording is taking place.
However, the feature has faced criticism after users found ways to cover or tamper with the recording light by drilling holes into the device or covering it with tape or other materials.
In response, Meta announced a software update that disables the camera if the company detects that the recording indicator has been tampered with.
Privacy advocates have continued to question whether the indicator light provides sufficient notice, arguing that many people are unaware of its purpose or may not notice the small light, particularly in bright outdoor environments.
Concerns surrounding the glasses have contributed to the devices earning the nickname “pervert glasses” on social media, reflecting criticism over their potential use for covert recording and privacy violations, per Breitbart News.
Instagram’s latest policy appears aimed at addressing those concerns by limiting content that uses the glasses to secretly record and harass members of the public.
The announcement comes as Meta continues expanding its wearable technology offerings while facing increased scrutiny over how those devices may be used.
The company has not announced additional policy changes beyond the removal of harassment videos recorded with the smart glasses, and it remains unclear how broadly the new moderation policy will be applied.
