Export Photos and Videos From Ray-Ban Meta Glasses (and Back Them Up Properly)
Ray-Ban Meta glasses hold your clips until the Meta AI app imports them to your phone, and the import removes them from the glasses. Here is how import works, which formats you get on iPhone and Android, the video settings, and how to get everything onto a computer and a backup drive.
Photos and videos stay on Ray-Ban Meta glasses until the Meta AI app imports them to your phone. Meta says the import saves them to your phone's photo library and removes them from the glasses. From there they are ordinary phone files: copy them to a computer the same way as any iPhone or Android photo. Because import deletes the glasses' copy, your phone holds the only one until you back it up.
How import works
From Meta's help pages, checked October 2026:
- Media must be imported into the Meta AI app before you can view or share it, and the glasses must be connected to the app to import.
- Auto-import is on by default on iPhone and on Android 13 and later. It can be turned on or off in the app.
- Imported media is saved to your phone's photos app and removed from the glasses.
- The app's Gallery is a view of your phone's photo library. Deleting in the app deletes from the phone, and deleting from the phone removes it from the app's Gallery.
Importing by hand
- Turn on Bluetooth and make sure the glasses are paired with the Meta AI app.
- Open the app and go to your glasses (Meta's pages describe this as Glasses at the top right, or the Devices or Menu icon at the bottom right, depending on app version).
- If there are unimported captures, an Import button appears next to Gallery. Tap it.
Large videos take a while. Keep the glasses in their case or charged and the phone nearby until it finishes.
What files you get
| Phone | Photos | Videos |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone | HEIC | HEVC |
| Android | JPEG | MP4 |
Source: Meta's AI glasses help pages, checked October 2026.
Video length and resolution
| Glasses | Video resolution | Maximum clip length | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2) | Up to 3K at 30 fps, or 1080p at 60 fps | 3 minutes | 52 g |
| Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 1) | 1080p, not adjustable | 3 minutes | Not published |
| Oakley Meta HSTN | Up to 3K at 30 fps, or 1080p at 60 fps | 3 minutes | 53 g |
| Oakley Meta Vanguard | Up to 3K at 30 fps, or 1080p at 60 fps | 5 minutes | 66 g |
Specs from the makers' published data, checked October 2026. Clips default to 30 seconds; Meta says you can extend that in the app to 3 minutes for most models and 5 minutes on the Oakley Meta Vanguard.
If you want the longest, highest-quality clips for an edit, set both before the trip: the default 30 seconds cuts off a lot of moments. For a comparison of video-capable glasses, see smart glasses for video.
From phone to computer
Once imported, glasses media is in your phone's library alongside everything else. Copy it the same way as phone photos:
- iPhone: cable to a Mac and Image Capture, straight into a folder; set the iPhone to keep originals so HEVC is not converted on the way. Full steps in back up iPhone photos to an external drive.
- Android: File Transfer mode on Windows, or adb on any computer. Full steps in back up Android photos to a computer.
To find glasses media among phone shots, sort by date, or look for an album or folder the Meta AI app creates.
If your phone uses Optimize Storage or Free up space
With iCloud Photos set to optimise storage, or Google Photos' Free up space used, older glasses clips may exist on the phone only as previews. Download originals first, as described in the iPhone and Android guides above, or you will copy thumbnails instead of video.
Sharing straight from the app
For a quick share rather than a backup, Meta's steps are: in the Meta AI app, open your glasses, tap Gallery, choose the capture, tap Share and pick the destination. You can also ask by voice, for example "send a photo to" a contact on Messenger or WhatsApp. That sends a copy to someone else. It does not give you an archive, so still copy the originals from your phone.
If media does not appear
Meta's help pages give a few causes worth checking, in this order:
- Not imported yet. The glasses must be connected to the Meta AI app. If auto-import is off, use the Import button by hand.
- Photo permission. The app's Gallery shows media by reading your phone's photo library with your permission. Meta says that if you revoke that permission, or delete the media from your phone's photos app, it will not appear in the Gallery. Check the app still has full photo access in your phone's privacy settings.
- Deleted on the phone. Because the glasses' copy is removed on import, a clip deleted from the phone afterwards exists only in the phone's Recently Deleted album or your cloud backup.
Settings to change before a trip
- Video length. The 30-second default ends a lot of clips early. Raise it to the maximum your model allows.
- Resolution and frame rate. On models that support it, choose 3K at 30 fps for detail or 1080p at 60 fps for movement. Gen 1 cannot be changed.
- Auto-import. Leave it on if you want clips off the glasses quickly. Turn it off if you would rather import at the end of the day when the phone is charging and on Wi-Fi.
- Phone storage. Imports land in the phone's library, so the phone needs room for a day of video.
Where glasses footage fits in your archive
Treat the glasses as one more camera on the trip. Give them their own folder next to the drone, action camera and phone, for example 2026-10-10_Lisbon/RAYBAN. Our folder structure guide explains why one folder per camera stops files from different devices getting mixed up.
Backup checklist
- Let auto-import finish, or import by hand at the end of each day. The glasses then no longer have a copy.
- Make sure the phone's cloud backup is on and has room. If it is full, see iCloud storage full or Google storage full.
- Copy the day's glasses clips to a drive with the rest of the trip's footage.
- Only delete from the phone once a drive copy exists, remembering that deleting in the Meta AI app deletes from the phone too.