Meta glasses users hit by subscription paywall move
Owners of Meta’s smart glasses will have to pay a monthly subscription for extended use of Conversation Focus, as the company expands premium AI features across its products.
Meta is putting one of its headline AI smart glasses features behind a subscription paywall, with owners now required to pay a monthly fee if they want extended access to Conversation Focus.
It is a move that marks the latest step in the company’s wider push towards paid artificial intelligence services.
The decision comes as Meta continues to invest heavily in AI products across its platforms and hardware, while expanding its wearable technology ambitions through its increasingly popular Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
The social media giant announced users of its AI glasses will receive three hours of free Conversation Focus use each month before being asked to subscribe.
After reaching the limit, users must pay $19.99 (£15) a month to continue using the feature until their allowance refreshes the following month. Subscribers to Meta One Premium will receive up to 15 hours of Conversation Focus monthly, although the subscription is currently unavailable in the UK.
Meta said the change forms part of wider tests announced earlier this year to introduce premium subscription features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp while keeping core services free.
The move also follows Meta’s continued AI expansion under chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, whose company has recently accelerated development of its Meta AI assistant and wearable devices as competition intensifies from rivals including Apple, Google and Snap.
A Meta spokesperson said: “All AI glasses owners get free monthly usage for certain features.”
The company added on its support pages that users who exceed the “free monthly usage limit” will need to wait until the following calendar month unless they subscribe.
Meta declined to issue a wider statement but said the change forms part of ongoing experiments with subscription services.
A spokesperson told the BBC users would continue to have free access to other AI-powered features on the glasses, including live translation and Meta’s voice assistant.
Conversation Focus uses the microphones built into the glasses to amplify the voices of people directly in front of the wearer, making conversations easier while other features – such as notifications being read aloud – remain active.
The feature was unveiled by Mark Zuckerberg during Meta’s annual product showcase last September and was promoted as offering accessibility benefits, although the company has stressed it is not designed to function as a hearing aid or medical device.
One user, writing to Meta Ray-Ban product lead David Woodland, criticised the change.
They said: “Putting Conversation Focus behind a paywall feels wrong.
“I would gladly subscribe to Meta One, but only if it genuinely offers unlimited access.”
Meta maintained most owners would not be affected.
A company spokesperson told The Verge: “The subscription is for power users who want expanded access and additional benefits like premium device support.”
Conversation Focus has not yet launched in the UK.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have become the best-selling AI glasses currently available, with the company recently extending its partnership with Italian eyewear manufacturer Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica to develop further wearable products.
The devices, priced from £269 in the UK and $299 in the US, have emerged as one of Meta’s flagship AI hardware products as the company competes with reported smart glasses projects from Apple and Snapchat.
They have also generated privacy concerns since launch.
Women have reported being recorded without their knowledge before later discovering footage had been uploaded online.
Meta has said the devices should never be used to harass or abuse people and pointed to an LED indicator that illuminates while recording is taking place, with recording disabled if the light is obstructed.
The company has also faced scrutiny over its AI training practices after ending a contract with outsourcing firm Sama shortly after Kenya-based workers alleged they had been required to review graphic content captured by Meta’s smart glasses.
Meta told the BBC the agreement with Sama ended because the company failed to meet its standards.
