Meta Pauses Subscription Test for Smart Glasses Feature After Backlash

Meta has paused plans to implement a $20 monthly subscription fee for "Conversation Focus," a smart glasses accessibility feature that allows users to hear others more clearly. According to reporting from The Verge, the company initially intended to "rate limit" the feature to 15 hours per month, even for paying subscribers, citing incremental costs.

However, The Verge noted that the feature runs locally on the hardware and continues to function without an internet connection, contradicting Meta's claims regarding service costs. Meta spokesperson Tyler Yee told The Verge that the company heard feedback and is pausing the test to find a "better approach," though the feature will remain free for early testers in the Early Access Program.

While Meta is stepping back from this specific fee, the company maintains that some premium features will eventually be subscription-based. Yee suggested this model is intended to subsidize the cost of hardware to keep AI glasses accessible to a wider audience, noting that charging power users helps sustain investment in new capabilities.

This monetization struggle coincides with broader PR challenges for the device. As reported by The Verge, Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently stated that content involving harassment or people being taken advantage of—specifically "pickup line kind of videos" filmed with the glasses—would be removed from Instagram. Meta spokesperson Albert Aydin told The Verge the company is also working to remove content from accounts linked to devices where camera tampering is detected.