Instagram users: Here’s how to stop Meta’s AI from using your photos

On Tuesday, Meta launched “Muse Image,” a new AI image-generation feature that allows users to create original images, edit existing photos, and even generate custom ads directly within its apps. 

But one capability has quickly become the center of controversy. 

Muse Image allows users to generate AI images using photos from public Instagram accounts. As long as a person’s profile is public, another user can tag that account and use their images as part of an AI-generated creation. (Only private accounts and accounts belonging to users under 18 are automatically excluded from the feature.)

One huge concern is consent. Users may have no idea that their public photos can be incorporated into AI-generated images by strangers, and they aren’t even notified when someone reuses their public content. Plus, making it easy to manipulate people’s images opens the door to misuse, harassment, impersonation, and nonconsensual image editing.

If you’re looking to opt out of this, here’s how you can do it.

• Head to your profile and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
• Scroll down to “Sharing and reuse.”
• Look for the option that says, “Allow people to use your content on Instagram with AI features on Meta”
• Toggle the setting off for both posts and reels.

Muse Image arrives at a time when AI tools are being increasingly integrated into social media platforms. As tech companies race to roll out new generative AI features, many experts argue that stronger privacy protections and greater transparency are needed, so users fully understand how their photos and personal data are being used.

Public skepticism around AI is already high. According to a Pew Research Center survey, 35% of respondents said they’re more concerned than excited about the growing use of artificial intelligence.

Additionally, Meta’s track record on user privacy has also fueled skepticism surrounding its latest AI feature.

In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5 billion fine against Facebook, concluding that the platform had violated a 2012 consent order by misleading users about how much control they had over their personal information. This followed a high-profile scandal where political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica gained access to data from up to 87 million Facebook users through a personality quiz app. Facebook’s platform policies at the time allowed developers to collect information about those users’ friends without their knowledge or explicit consent.