Is Facebook Accessing Your Camera Roll? What You Need To Know And Do

Facebook users have been urged to review their privacy settings after revelations that its parent company, Meta, may be accessing photographs stored on their camera rolls including images never uploaded to the platform.

The warning was shared by the Good Law Project, which took to TikTok to show how users can check whether their Facebook settings allow such access.

"Right now, Meta could be looking at your camera roll," the organisation explained in its video. "Meta have quietly introduced this new setting that allows itself to look at your camera roll and use that as data information." According to the Good Law Project, Meta has said the feature is an "opt-in or out thing".

How to Check Your Facebook Camera Roll Settings

To see if your account is affected, open the Facebook app and follow these steps:

1. Go to your profile menu.
2. Tap ‘Settings and Privacy’, then select ‘Settings’.
3. Scroll down to ‘Camera roll sharing suggestions’ and tap it.

You will then see a message stating: "Manage how your camera roll can be used to help you create and share on Facebook. You can control camera roll access at any time in your device settings."

How to Turn Off Facebook Camera Roll Access

To stop Meta from using your camera roll data, make sure both options are toggled off if they appear blue:

• Custom sharing suggestions from your camera roll
• Get camera roll suggestions when you're browsing Facebook

According to Facebook, the first option uses data such as favourite videos or the time photos were taken to "suggest custom creations already arranged and edited with things like transitions, music and effects". The second allows users to "occasionally see" photos and videos from their camera roll as reminders of "new sharing suggestions available".

Users React with Shock

Several TikTok users expressed surprise after discovering their settings allowed camera roll access. One commented: "I just checked and mine was also blue/ticked."

Another said: "Thank you for this. I had no idea. I've turned these off now." A third added: "Just went and checked mine, and they were ticked too. I'm sure they probably layered it in a recent 'agree to update' or something."

An IT professional on TikTok clarified: "As a developer I can tell you for certain that you allowed that option, maybe years ago but you allowed it. It cannot be bypassed, it requires user approval. It's in the iOS/Android SDK."

Meta has been invited to respond to these concerns.