{"id":203222,"date":"2026-07-02T14:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/07\/02\/meta-glasses-wearers-hit-with-paywall-to-use-built-in-feature\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T14:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T14:58:41","slug":"meta-glasses-wearers-hit-with-paywall-to-use-built-in-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/07\/02\/meta-glasses-wearers-hit-with-paywall-to-use-built-in-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta glasses wearers hit with paywall to use built-in feature"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Owners of Meta’s AI glasses have been told they must pay a monthly fee if they want full access to a feature that was previously free.<\/b><\/p>\n

Users will have to shell out $19.99 every month to use “Conversation Focus”, which uses the microphones on the glasses to make it easier to hear people you’re talking to, for more than three hours a month.<\/p>\n

Meta says those who hit the “free monthly usage limit” will have to wait for their free hours to refresh each calendar month unless they subscribe.<\/p>\n

The social media giant declined to provide a statement, but a spokesperson said the move formed part of its experiments with offering subscriptions for some features while keeping core services free.<\/p>\n

Meta’s plans to test “premium” subscription experiments across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp were first revealed in January.<\/p>\n

The firm later confirmed, external<\/span> its tests would include trialling paid access to expanded AI features, including those on its smart glasses.<\/p>\n

A Meta spokesperson told the BBC on Thursday users of its glasses would still have access to other built-in AI features, such as live translation and its voice assistant, without needing a subscription.<\/p>\n

“All AI glasses owners get free monthly usage for certain features,” it says on a help page, external<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The company says subscribers to its Meta One Premium tier will be able to use Conversation Focus for up to 15 hours each month.<\/p>\n

Meta One subscriptions are only available in some countries – not including the UK.<\/p>\n

“Putting Conversation Focus behind a paywall feels wrong,” said one user who wrote, external<\/span> to Meta Ray-Ban product lead David Woodland.<\/p>\n

“I would gladly subscribe to Meta One, but only if it genuinely offers unlimited access.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meta’s spokesperson told the BBC the majority of its glasses users would not be impacted by its move to limit lengthier Conversation Focus use to subscribers.<\/p>\n

“The subscription is for power users who want expanded access and additional benefits like premium device support,” a Meta spokesperson told The Verge, external<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Conversation Focus is also not yet available to Meta glasses owners in the UK.<\/p>\n

It is designed to help users have face-to-face conversations while using glasses features, such as reading notifications aloud, by amplifying the voice of people in front of them.<\/p>\n

Revealed by Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg at a product showcase last September, it was among features hailed by some as providing an accessibility boost.<\/p>\n

While Meta says Conversation Focus should not be used as a hearing aid or medical device, it has championed the accessibility benefits of the feature, external<\/span>, and of its glasses more widely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses are the most popular devices of their kind on the market – with Snapchat and reportedly Apple among firms keen to rival its success.<\/p>\n

Meta recently expanded its partnership with the Italian eyewear brand to produce its own line of Meta Glasses, priced from \u00a3269 in the UK and $299 in the US.<\/p>\n

But its smart glasses have also been subject to criticism and concern about their privacy impact.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Women have complained of being filmed without their knowledge or consent – with some only discovering they have been covertly filmed after seeing videos of themselves online.<\/p>\n

Meta has said its glasses should not to be used to harass or abuse others, and that they have a light to let people know if a wearer is filming – with recording prevented if this is detected as covered.<\/p>\n

But the company has faced continued pressure over their safety and use.<\/p>\n

It was recently pressed to explain why it cancelled a major contract with a company it was using to train its AI, shortly after some of its Kenya-based workers alleged they had to view graphic content captured by its smart glasses.<\/p>\n

Meta told the BBC it ended Sama’s contract because it failed to meet its standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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