How to Prevent Meta AI From Using Your Instagram Photos

Meta rolled out Muse Image on Tuesday, a new AI-powered image-generation feature that enables users to create original images, edit existing photos, and even design custom advertisements directly within Meta’s apps.

However, one particular capability has quickly drawn criticism from privacy advocates and users alike.

Muse Image allows AI-generated images to incorporate photos from public Instagram accounts. As long as an Instagram profile is public, another user can tag that account and use its images in an AI-generated creation. Meta automatically excludes only private accounts and accounts owned by users under 18 from this feature.

The biggest concern surrounding the rollout is user consent. Many Instagram users may not realise that strangers can reuse their public photos in AI-generated content, and Meta does not notify users when someone incorporates their public images into these creations. Critics argue that this functionality could increase the risk of misuse, harassment, impersonation, and non-consensual image manipulation.

Users who do not want their Instagram content used with Muse Image can turn off the feature in the app’s privacy settings.

How to opt out of Meta’s Muse Image feature

• Open your Instagram profile.
• Tap the three horizontal lines in the upper-right corner.
• Scroll down and select Sharing and reuse.
• Find the option labelled “Allow people to use your content on Instagram with AI features” on Meta.
• Turn the setting off for both Posts and Reels.

The introduction of Muse Image comes as generative AI tools continue expanding across social media platforms. As technology companies race to integrate AI into consumer products, many experts have called for stronger privacy protections and greater transparency. Hence, users clearly understand how their photos and personal data may be used.

Public concern about artificial intelligence also remains significant. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre, 35% of respondents said they feel more concerned than excited about the growing adoption of AI technologies.

Meta’s history of privacy controversies has further fueled scepticism surrounding its latest AI feature.

In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Facebook a record $5 billion after determining that the company violated a 2012 consent order by misleading users about the extent of their control over their personal information. The penalty followed the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm obtained data from up to 87 million Facebook users through a personality quiz application. At the time, Facebook’s platform policies allowed developers to collect information not only from users who installed the app but also from many of their friends, without those users’ knowledge or explicit consent.