Meta Faces Backlash Over AI Images From Public Instagram Photos

Meta is facing criticism over Muse Image, an AI tool that can use other people’s public Instagram profile pictures in generated images without telling them.

The feature is available to US users through the Meta AI app and web browser, as well as WhatsApp and Instagram Stories.

Meta says people with public accounts can opt out, but only through a separate setting from their normal privacy controls.

Donald Campbell, advocacy director at technology justice non-profit Foxglove, told the BBC the feature was an “obvious recipe for disaster”.

“We've already seen a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year,” he said.

“It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea.”

Privacy International also criticised Muse Image, calling it “the latest sign AI companies see people's images and data as raw material to be exploited”.

One user on X described pulling real users into generated photos without explicit consent as “a privacy landmine waiting to detonate”.

Public accounts need a separate control

Meta said a dedicated setting allows users to stop their public content being reused on Instagram and with Meta’s AI features.

On Instagram, users must open Settings, select “Sharing and Reuse” and switch off “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with AI features at Meta” for posts and reels.

Those controls appear only for public accounts.

Private accounts are already unable to be shared through the setting, Meta said.

The opt-out is therefore separate from the account’s broader privacy status rather than an approval step required before a public image is reused.

Muse Image is one of many text-to-image tools that can create pictures from a short written prompt.

Meta’s blog post said it uses “advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere”.

Users can also choose presets and suggested prompts or sketch edits directly onto images.

Scrutiny is growing

The feature is entering a crowded image-generation market, but its use of Instagram gives it access to a large pool of real user images.

In a demonstration, the tool generated an image of a person driving a car after being given a simple request.

The launch comes as regulators and campaigners examine the wider harm caused by AI-generated images.

Ofcom is investigating X over Grok’s role in creating and sharing non-consensual AI-altered images of real people.

Meta said Muse Image is free for “everyday creation”, while heavier users can receive additional usage through subscription plans.

The company plans to bring it to Facebook and Messenger and make it available through another tool for advertisers.

A video-generation version is reportedly in development.