Google's Gemini glasses redact faces before the AI sees them

Google opened pre-orders for its first glasses with Gemini on November 12. They were built with Samsung and the eyewear brands Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Warby Parker frames start at $395 and Gentle Monster frames at $449. The glasses go on sale in stores and online on December 10, initially only in the US and South Korea, and Google says they only work with Google Accounts from those two countries.

In its announcement, Google lists a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, open-ear speakers and a battery that lasts up to nine hours, with frames weighing around 41 grams. Gemini answers questions about what the wearer is looking at, translates conversations and reads small print aloud. Google does not mention a display in the lenses. The glasses work with Pixel and Samsung phones as well as iPhones.

Faces are redacted before Gemini sees an image

In a separate privacy post, Google says the glasses are "designed to automatically redact bystanders' faces before Gemini processes the visuals." According to Google, camera visuals that Gemini captures to answer a question are not saved in Gemini History and are not used to train AI models or target ads. Data stored on the glasses is encrypted, and so is data sent to the phone or the cloud for processing.

Taking a photo or video for the gallery turns on an outward-facing LED. If the light is covered or tampered with, sensors are designed to detect it and block the recording. Before using the glasses, buyers must agree not to record people without permission or in sensitive places, and Google can disable the glasses if they break those rules. Play Store apps may not use the camera for social live-streaming or real-time facial identification.

What Google's promises leave open

Google words much of this carefully. A camera that is designed to redact faces does not come with a guarantee. Google also does not say whether redaction applies to photos and videos saved to the gallery, or whether those are excluded from AI training, because the promise only covers images Gemini analyzes for answers. Neither post says how long such images stay in the cloud, or whether the LED lights up when only Gemini is using the camera.

Camera glasses have drawn privacy pushback before. Norway has considered a temporary ban on smart glasses, and owners of Meta's Ray-Ban glasses have to turn off AI training themselves. Google has not said whether or when the glasses will come to Europe.