Pop star Lorde publicly denounced Meta's AI glasses during a Madrid festival performance, calling them a privacy nightmare and urging audiences not to buy them.
The criticism comes as Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses continue to sell strongly—over 7 million units in 2025—despite ongoing investigations and lawsuits alleging privacy violations, including claims that workers were made to watch videos from the glasses' cameras to train Meta's AI.
What happened
During a performance at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, pop star Lorde publicly criticized Meta's AI glasses, telling the audience "Don't get the glasses. Not sexy," citing privacy concerns about the technology that security experts view as a threat to privacy.
Why it matters
Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses—which come with cameras and AI features—have already drawn multiple privacy lawsuits and investigations, including one alleging Kenyan contract workers were forced to watch graphic videos obtained with the glasses to train Meta's AI. Despite these concerns, the product has achieved strong commercial momentum.
What to watch
EssilorLuxottica reported selling more than 7 million Meta AI glasses in 2025—more than triple the roughly 2 million units sold in 2023 and 2024 combined—showing consumer demand remains robust even as privacy questions persist.
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Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have become a major commercial success despite mounting privacy concerns. The product sold more than 7 million units in 2025 alone—a dramatic increase from prior years—even as the company faces multiple investigations and lawsuits over alleged privacy violations. One of the most serious allegations involves Kenyan contract workers being required to watch graphic videos obtained with the glasses to assist in training Meta's AI systems. The company has said it takes privacy seriously and includes safeguards like a visible recording light, but these measures have not quelled public skepticism or legal challenges. Lorde's public criticism at a high-profile festival underscores a growing cultural pushback against the technology, framing the glasses not only as a privacy liability but also as aesthetically undesirable—a sentiment that may resonate more broadly with consumers than technical privacy arguments alone.
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