Instagram Users Raise Privacy Concerns Over Meta's AI Image Tool: Step-by-Step Guide to Opt Out
Meta has rolled out a new artificial intelligence image generator called Muse Image across Instagram, and users are raising privacy concerns over the feature. Several users have claimed they were automatically enrolled without their consent, prompting many to urge others to review their Instagram settings immediately.
The new tool allows users to generate AI images by referencing public Instagram accounts. However, Meta has automatically enabled the feature for eligible public accounts by default instead of asking users to opt in first.
Instagram users react to automatic opt-in
Popular tech reviewer Marques Brownlee highlighted the rollout on social media, pointing out that Instagram had enabled the feature for every public account by default rather than allowing users to switch it on themselves.
The rollout sparked criticism online. One user, posting as Aravind, claimed the feature could allow anyone to recreate another person's appearance using AI and urged people to stop using Meta-owned platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Privacy advocates have also criticised Meta's approach. Thorin Klosowski, senior security and privacy activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told The Guardian that such a feature should have been opt-in because it introduces a completely new use for photos that users uploaded years ago without anticipating AI-generated recreations.
A blog post by cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes noted that while Meta promotes Muse Image as a way to personalise AI image generation using public Instagram accounts, the feature becomes far more controversial when it is used to generate images of other people rather than oneself.
Some users have also reported that the setting re-enables itself even after being switched off manually. In a screen recording shared on X, one user alleged that the toggle repeatedly turned itself back on and claimed the only reliable way to prevent their content from being used was to make their Instagram account private.
