Meta has reportedly revived its abandoned Facebook Watch, plans to release it in 2026, and is probably rubbing its corporate hands at what health data it will learn from you, and then turn around and monetize.
Back in 2021, Facebook had plans to make a smartwatch, and it was far enough along that there was even a leaked image of just how much it looked like an Apple Watch.
Nothing came of it back then, but maybe not for technological reasons. It was also in 2021 that the Facebook company was renamed Meta in a feeble attempt to distance itself from its own appalling record on privacy abuses.
Amongst multiple other breaches and mistakes, there had been the Cambridge Analytical scandal that led to Tim Cook calling for stricter privacy standards. It also led to Meta paying out $725 million to settle a class action suit about the lack of privacy protections on the platform.
But then also in 2021, Apple launched its App Tracking Transparency. That's the privacy feature that in its first year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his firm would take a $10 billion hit because it couldn't tailor advertising as well, since it couldn't glean as much data from dark patters anymore.
So maybe Facebook/Meta/whoever just couldn't afford to keep going with its smartwatch project back then. Although if Apple improving privacy knocks billions off your revenue, you're not selling watches, you're monetizing people's personal data on a ridiculous scale.
Still, by August 2025, Meta seemingly recovered enough that it was suspected of having found a way to flout Apple's privacy rules.
With presumably a little more cash available, then, and still shaken by App Tracking Transparency, reports have started once more about a Facebook Watch coming. As reported by The Information, amongst many others, the FaceBook Watch is planned for 2026.
There's not much detail yet, but then there doesn't have to be. Originally the idea was to track health data and it's unlikely that this has changed for the new version.
Image of a purported Facebook Watch from 2021. Note the camera at the bottom.
Equally, just as back in 2021, Facebook Watch still has to compete with rivals, most especially Apple Watch. Whether it can do so on features or not, the smart money says that it will compete on exactly that, money.
While Meta has not spoken publicly, it's a fair bet that the Facebook Watch will be priced drastically lower than the Apple Watch. On the positive side, that would fit with Zuckerberg's previous statements about making products for "people who can't afford to pay" and instead don't value their private information.
On one negative side, that comment of his was in support of advertising. That could mean before you see the time on your Facebook Watch, you have scroll past an ad.
But on another more certain negative side, the Facebook Watch will be priced low for one reason. Meta will want the greatest number of people possible to buy it, because on past record, it's not the hardware that will make the company money.
It will be your details, your personal data. Your blood pressure, your sleep habits, medicines, and so much more. We've already seen how badly ChatGPT uses your health data, but at least that's transparent to the user.
With a Facebook Watch, we may never know how much Meta is making off breaking the backbone of your privacy.
