Meta glasses wearers hit with paywall to use built-in feature

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.

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.

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.

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.

Meta's plans to test "premium" subscription experiments across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp were first revealed in January .

The firm later confirmed , external its tests would include trialling paid access to expanded AI features, including those on its smart glasses.

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.

"All AI glasses owners get free monthly usage for certain features," it says on a help page , external .

The company says subscribers to its Meta One Premium tier will be able to use Conversation Focus for up to 15 hours each month.

Meta One subscriptions are only available in some countries - not including the UK.

"Putting Conversation Focus behind a paywall feels wrong," said one user who wrote , external to Meta Ray-Ban product lead David Woodland.

"I would gladly subscribe to Meta One, but only if it genuinely offers unlimited access."

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.

"The subscription is for power users who want expanded access and additional benefits like premium device support," a Meta spokesperson told The Verge , external .

Conversation Focus is also not yet available to Meta glasses owners in the UK.

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.