Instagram is taking action against videos filmed with Meta smart glasses that show creators harassing or exploiting strangers in public.
The crackdown targets content such as disruptive prank videos involving service workers and pickup videos in which women or other strangers initially do not realise they are being recorded.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the change while answering a question through Instagram Stories.
Mosseri said Instagram would remove content in which creators secretly record people, harass them and then upload the footage to the platform. Meta’s existing rules prohibit bullying and harassment across Instagram, Facebook and Threads.
Videos filmed with Meta glasses have become increasingly common on Instagram Reels and TikTok.
Some creators use the glasses to record themselves playing pranks on cashiers, fast-food employees and other service workers without making it clear that they are filming.
One example involved putting fart spray on a candle inside a Walmart store and asking employees or customers to smell it.
Other videos feature creators entering stores, behaving disruptively and attempting to provoke reactions from workers and members of the public.
Instagram is also targeting pickup videos filmed through Meta glasses.
In these videos, creators approach women in gyms, shops, or public streets while recording from their own point of view.
Although some interactions may remain friendly, the person being approached often does not immediately realise that the conversation is being filmed for social media.
Business Insider found that Instagram had deactivated two large pickup-artist accounts that used Meta glasses to record approaches to women in public. Both accounts previously had more than one million followers.
A Meta spokesperson confirmed that Instagram removed the accounts for violating its rules against harassing content filmed with the glasses. However, Meta did not explain how many videos it had removed or provide a detailed definition of what would qualify for removal.
Meta smart glasses include a white indicator light that flashes while the wearer takes a photograph or records a video.
The light has no software switch and is intended to alert nearby people that the camera is active. It flashes briefly for photographs and continues blinking during video recording.
However, the small light may be difficult to notice, particularly in bright outdoor conditions. People may also fail to understand that it indicates active recording.
Older glasses could also be modified by covering the light with tape or film or physically damaging it.
Meta says the second generation of its smart glasses automatically disables the camera when the system detects that the recording light has been covered.
The company is now expanding that protection so the camera also stops working when the glasses detect that someone has physically damaged or destroyed the light.
Users cannot capture photographs or videos until the device determines that the light is visible and working again.
Meta also removes advertisements, posts and Marketplace listings promoting services that disable or modify the recording indicator. The company says it may ban accounts advertising such services and take legal action against businesses offering the modifications.
Meta glasses have faced criticism because they allow people to record from a first-person perspective without holding up a phone or conventional camera.
The growing number of prank and pickup videos has added to concerns about privacy and acceptable behaviour in public places.
The glasses have also received an offensive nickname on social media because of fears that people could use them for unwanted or inappropriate recordings.
Instagram’s crackdown does not prevent people from recording in public. Instead, it targets creators who use the recordings to harass, embarrass or exploit people and then publish the content on the platform.
Meta has not explained how it will identify all violating videos or whether it will introduce rules specifically covering content recorded with smart glasses.
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