Meta, which owns platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that uses Instagram users’ posted photos as its reference. The new feature-capable of generating images-has sparked controversy, although it can be switched off.
How Meta’s Muse Image works on Meta AI
On Tuesday, Meta unveiled “Muse Image”, a tool now available through the company’s AI platform, Meta AI. It allows people to request newly generated images that include individuals who have an Instagram account, simply by entering the relevant Instagram username.
In practice, this means a person’s face and likeness-along with the likeness of anyone else who appears in their photos-can be used as the basis for creating new images.
Which Instagram accounts can be used
“Muse Image” only draws on public Instagram profiles; it cannot be used with private accounts. However, for those with a public profile, the default setting is that the AI tool is allowed to use their images.
Following the announcement and a wave of criticism, Meta clarified that, in addition to private accounts, profiles belonging to under-18s are “automatically excluded”.
Proton, a company focused on privacy, describes the situation as follows: “It is not consulted first. And, according to Meta’s own policy, it is not informed afterwards either.”
How to disable “Muse Image”
Only users with public profiles need to take action to stop Meta using their images. In Instagram, open the app settings (the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner of your profile) and scroll down to the “How people can interact with you” section.
From there, tap “Sharing and reuse” and, under “Allow people to reuse your content on Instagram and with Meta AI features”, use the toggle to turn it off for both posts and Reels (the platform’s short videos).
You can also enable or disable reuse on a post-by-post basis. In that case, tap the three dots (…) in the top corner of the post and choose “Turn off reuse”.
Cybersecurity criticism of the opt-out approach
Proton criticises the opt-out process-buried in settings-warning that “Meta’s Muse Image tool launch follows a pattern already familiar from big tech companies”, namely that “data sharing is turned on by default, the option to disable it is hidden in settings, and public backlash becomes the main way users find out what happened to their content”.
Cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes also outlined concerns about how the new tool operates, writing: “Meta says Muse Image was created to make AI image generation more personal, allowing people to use public Instagram accounts as a reference in their prompts.”
“This may seem fun when you’re creating images of yourself. But it’s less appealing when anyone else can do the same with your account,” it added.
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